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COCONCHOLOGIST

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| LIBRARY

OCTOBER, 1982

The TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST is the official publication of the Houston Conchol-
ogy Society, Inc., and is published quarterly at Houston, Texas. It is
distributed as part of the dues to all menbers.

The Society holds regular meetings the fourth Wednesdays of the follow-
ing months: August, September, October, January, February, March, April,
and May. The meeting is held the third Wednesday in November. Meetings
are held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Caroline Street in
Hermann Park, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST is published October, January, April and July.

It is mailed postpaid to regular members in U.S. postal zones. Overseas
members will be charged additional postage. Only one copy will be mailed
a family membership.

Dues extend from the beginning of the fiscal year of June 1 through May
31. However, the July issue of the TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST each year is the
fourth quarterly due on the regular dues year beginning June 1 of the
previous year. Memberships will be accepted throughout the year but will
receive quarterlies of that fiscal year. Members receive meeting
Newsletters and have all other privileges provided by the Society's by-
laws.

RATES AND DUES

Family membership

Single membership

Student membership

Single Issues

Extra sets mailed members $ 9. 00

(Postage for overseas members required)

Subscription $10.00

(Seamail $5.00, Airmail outside U.S., $8.00)

EDITOR CIRCULATION

Constance E. Boone Mr. Grytch Williams
668-8252 664-2809

3706 Rice Boulevard 6644 Belmont
Houston, Texas 77005 Houston, Texas 77005

EDITORIAL STAFF

Helmer Ode'
3319 Big Bend Drive
Austin, Texas TagoL

512-452-7794

The TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST accepts contributions for publication from ama-
teurs, students, and professionals, subject to approval by the Editor.
Manuscripts should be typed, double spaced and should be in the hands of
the Editor the first day of the month preceding publication dates.
Photos accompanying such material are welcomed.

SIGNIFICANT TEXAS NAIAD RECORDS

Raymond W. Neck
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, Texas 78744

In the process of reviewing unionid collections in several museums as part
of a survey of the freshwatermussels of Texas, I have encountered specimens
which are of distributional significance. Some of these notable records are
from recent field collections by various workers.

Anodonta suborbiculata Say, 1831 was not reported from Texas by Strecker
(1931) although he stated that it "is likely to occur in eastern Texas"
(Strecker 1931:8). The only published record from Texas known to me is
Wards Prairie Lake, near Romayer, Liberty County in the Trinity River system
(Johnson 1980: 114, 159). The specimen is in the collection of the Museum
of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University.

Recently, I have received reports of the species from various Texas localities
in several drainages as follows: BRAZOS RIVER, Rock Creek, northwest end

of Possum Kingdom Reservoir, Palo Pinto Co., 27 September 1980 (fide Charles
E. Fontanier); TRINITY RIVER, Lake Livingston, 6.5 km south of Glendale at
end of FM 3188; Trinity Co., August 1980 (fide Charles M. Mather).

Note should be made of the report of A. suborbiculata from Caddo Lake by
Vaughan (1893). These specimens apparently were from the Louisiana part of
Caddo Lake where "a few small specimens are found," but locality details
were not given. A. suborbiculata may well be a native member of the Texas
freshwater clam fauna.

The sudden occurrence of multiple collections after a period of only a
single collection is significant. Fuller (1980:86) has remarked on a
similar expansion in the upper Mississippi River. Occurrence of several
scattered populations indicates the likelihood of introduction via glochidia
on fish stock. Suitable fish host for A. suborbiculata is unknown (see
Fuller 1974). Introduction of Anodonta grandis Say 1829 into an artificial
impoundment via fish stock in the Panhandle portion of Texas was reported
by Neck (1982). The clustering of reports of A. suborbiculata within a
relatively short time period is probably the result of very low lake levels
during the extreme drought conditions of 1980.

Strophitus undulatus Say, 1816 appears to be distributed over a large portion
of Texas but populations are generally widely separated and always low-
density. Strecker (1931:13-14, 70) reported several localities from the
following river drainage basins: Red, Sabine, San Jacinto, Trinity and
Colorado. The only river in which he found S. undulatus abundant was the

San Jacinto. a

Specimens of S. undulatus from the Guadalupe River drainage have been
located in the collection of Trinity University, San Antonio. These indi-
viduals were collected by H.D. Murray on 11 September 1965, in the San
Marcos River at Palmetto State Park, Gonzales Co.

Lasmigona complanata (Barnes, 1823) was not reported from Texas by Strecker
(1931). Read (1954:45) reported Lasmigona costata (Rafinesque, 1820) from
the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, Dallas Co., where it was rare on gravel
substrate.

Present in the Dallas Museum of Natural History (DMNH 0355) is one pair

of valves referable to L. complanata, because of the relatively smooth
shell, roundly-oval shape (rather than elongate) and presence of posterior
dorsal wing (see Murray and Leonard 1962; Parmalee 1967; Burch 1975).

These valves were collected in Lake Lewisville, Denton Co., in August 1969,
by Jerry M. Flook. Interestingly, no mention was made of L. complanata

in his survey of metazoan parasites of the unionids of Lake Lewisville
(Flook 1972). Until Read's specimens can be located (if ever) his record
should be referred to L. complanata.

The Trinity University collection (lot #564) contains one old left valve
of L. complanta collected on 11 September 1965 by H.D. Murray in the San
Marcos River at Palmetto State Park, Gonzales Co.

Elliptio dilatata(Rafinesque, 1820) was not reported by Strecker (1931:7)
from Texas, although he did note that "Mr. Frierson suggests that as

(this species is) listed by Lea from the Red and Verdigris rivers, they
are likely to occur in the Red River of Texas." I know of no such records,
and E. dilatata has not been found in Lake Texoma of the Red River (White
and White 1977).

The Trinity University collection (lot #565) has one right valve collected
by H.D. Murray on 11 September 1965 in the San Marcos River at Palmetto
State Park, Gonzales Co.

Acknowledgements. I appreciate the assistance of C.E. Fontanier, C.M.
Mather and H.D. Murray in compiling these records.

Literature Cited

Burch, J.B. 1975. Freshwater unionacean clams (Mollusca: Pelecypoda) of
North America. Malacological Publ., Hamburg, Michigan, 204 pp.

Flook, J.M. 1972. A survey of metazoan parasites in unionid bivalves of
Garza-Little Elm Reservoir, Denton County, Texas. Texas J. Sci.
23: 381-392.

Fuller, S.L.H. 1974. Clams and mussels (Mollusca: Bivalvia). Pp. 215-273
in Pollution ecology of freshwater invertebrates. (C.W. Hart, Jr. and
S.L.H. Fuller, ed.). Academic Press, New York, 389 pp.

Fuller, S.L.H. 1980. Historical and current distributions of fresh-water
mussels (Mollusca:Bivalvia:Unionidae) in the upper Mississippi River.
Pp. 72-119, in Proc. UMRCC Symp. Upper Mississippi River bivalve
mollusks (Ed. J.L. Rasmussen). Upper Mississippi River Conservation
Committee, Rock Island, Illinois, 270 pp.

Johnson, R.I. 1980. Zoogeography of North American Unionacea (Mollusca:
Bivalvia) north of the maximum Pleistocene glaciation. Bull. Mus.
Comp. Zool. 149:77-189.

Murray, H.D. and A.B. Leonard. 1962. Handbook of unionid mussels in Kansas.
U. Kan. Mus. Nat. Hist. Misc. Publi. 28:1-184.

Neck, .R.W. 1982. Occurrence of Anodonta grandis (Say) in Lake Theo, Briscoe
Co., Texas. Texas Conchologist 18:49-52.

Parmalee, P.W. 1967. The fresh-water mussels of Illinois. Illinois St.
Mus: Pop. Sci. Ser. 8:108 pp.

Read, L.B. 1954. The Pelecypoda of Dallas County, Texas. Field & Lab.
22:35-52.

Strecker, J.K. 1931. The distribution of the naiades or pearly fresh-
water mussels of Texas. Baylor Univ. Mus. Special Bull. 2:71 pp.

Vaughan, T.W. 1893. Notes on a collection of mollusks from north western
Louisiana, and Harrison County, Texas. Amer. Nat. 27:944-961.

KKKKKKKKKEKKK

NEW PUBLICATIONS MARKETED LOCALLY

The Houston Gem and Mineral Society has published No. 2 in its Texas

Paletontology Series. ''Texas Cretaceous Bivalves and Localities" is

available for $8.25 plus sales tax (Texas residents add 5%Zand Houston
and MTA add 6%) plus postage and handling $1.00 per volume.

Houston Conchology Society members who went on the field trips to collect
fossils in Austin will want this volume which answers the nomenclatural
problems of shells collected, especially the oysters.

The TPS Publication No. 1, 1977, "Fossils and Localities of the Claiborne
Group (Eocene) of Texas" has been reprinted in 1982 and is available for
$6.60 (plus sales tax as above and postage and handling charge of $1.00
per volume).

All orders must be prepaid and check and money order should be made to
Paleontology Section, HGMS, and mailed to Paleontology Section HGMS,

7602 Jackwood, Houston, Texas 77074. Please be sure to include your name,
address, city, state and zip for delivery.

KEKKKEKKKKKEK

Coastal Texas: Water, Land, and Wildlife with photographs and text by John
L. Tveten has been published by Texas A&M University Press and is number five
of the LouiseLindsey Merrick Texas Environment Series. Cost is $29.95 and
books are available at the sales desk of the Houston Museum of Natural
Science as well as local bookstores. It is divided into three sections
---the beach, the dunes and the marshes. There are 126 marvelous color
illustrations, a good coffee table book for the lover of our coast.

SEARCH AND SEIZURE BY CONSTANCE BOONE

Rather plaintively I report a paper reviewing the members of the Littorina
ziczac complex which appeared in The Veliger in July, 1982 because it is
titled "Western Atlantic Species in Nodilittorina" and as far as I can see
it simply ignores the Gulf of Mexico.

Besides that, the authors have stated that the specific name we have applied
to our common little ziczac Littorina is their designation for a species they
consider to be limited to distribution in South America--Brazil and Uruguay.

What then is ours?
Where is the Gulf of Mexico?

Klaus Bandel and Dietrich Kadolsky present a comprehensive report on
"Comparative Morphology and its Functional, Ecological,Phylogenetic and
Taxonomic Implications" of the Western Atlantic species of Nodilittorina in
this paper consisting of 42 pages of review, reassignment, new species, with
maps and tables. They place spirally sculptured species which we have

known as Littorina and nodulose species we have known as Tectarius and
Echininus in Nodilittorina on the basis of biological concepts.

It is understandable that each new study of animals reveals new information.

The early describers generally used shell characteristics to separate genera

and species. In this paper, some of the species in the ziczac complex may be
determined only by radulae studies.

Since I have no background to review this kind of paper, I simply want to
bring this new information to your attention and alert you to the fact that
once again we do not know exactly what specific name we should apply to our
common Littorina.

I do not see any discussion of a littorinid assigned to Nodilittorina by the
authors from the Gulf of Mexico or even from the Yucatan area. The discussion
is about species from lower Florida, Caribbean and South America but only as
far north as Costa Rica in Central America.

This seems so strange since during the years I have worked with several
researchers, supplying many, many specimens live and in alcohol of Littorina
species from the Texas coast and also from the Yucatan. Several researchers
came to Texas to collect with me. The conclusion always was here that we
had only one in the ziczac complex that really was established and living
here. We do not have the nodulose littorinids in Texas and Louisiana, but I
collected these in the Yucatan. Occasionally we have had reports that we
verified of rafting in of true ziczac, but the ones we have living on our
jetties, concrete walls, piers, etc., seem to be all one species. Perhaps
it isn't Nodilittorina lineolata (using the new designation in Veliger) but
as of today I do not know what anyone thinks our species is. Maybe it will
turn out to be the eighth member of the ziczac complex?

Through the years I have worked to try to establish the range of what we
have called Littorina lineolata in the Northwest Gulf of Mexico. As far

as I am able to determine our species is also in the Yucatan (the Caribbean
islands of Isla Mujeres, Can Cun, and Cozumel, using the criterion I am
familiar with and knowing nothing of the animal) and then certainly from

Brownsville around to Holly Beach in Louisiana.

American Seashells (Abbott, 1974) lists two species of the ziczac complex
in Texas, lineolata and angustior. The latter does not prove to be in living
populations recent workers and researchers have collected here. I did find L.

angustior (on shell characteristics only) in the Yucatan and also L. ziczac.
One researcher affirmed this some years ago.

Many specimens have been sent to the major Eastern museums from here. I
cannot understand why the authors did not have knowledge of them.

KREKKKKKKEKRKER

At the meeting of the American Malacological Union this summer at New Orleans,
La., I was told something else about a family of shells I like to collect.
Everyone knows that I have been trying to study Texas Epitoniums. There is
a crying need for work to be done on the species appearing on our shores.
When I have been asked to identify the specimens club members and others
offer me, I have always qualified designations with some statement to the
effect that it was the best I could do and given with understanding the
literature and some consultation with the experts. Through the years I have
presented museums with lots from our shores. I would talk with researchers
and discuss why I thought such a shell was such a species and get a kind of
agreement but it was nothing absolute. No one qualified has undertaken the
task of studying our Epitoniums in recent years. There has been no animal
study certainly, no concrete habitat study even. About all I have known to
do is to supply the researchers. Even that does not do much good at this
time. Much material from this area has been put in the museums, I believe.
It will take a malacologist interested in our fauna and with grant money to
pursue his or her interest to get better information. We will not get

good answers until that happens.

The constant discussion on names to use is a mark of the amateur, I am
often told, and I am learning to be less interested in what the specific
name is and am trying to study more about habitats and animals. I confess
that I still pursue the game of names. When the light dawns on reading
some new report that places a name on one of my unknowns I am so very
pleased. At least for the moment I have solved a mystery. It is a changing
proposition. Tomorrow the genus may be changed. Tomorrow the family name
may be changed also. The specific name may be thrown out. Researchers
learn something new everyday. Maybe I can learn something new too. I
learn that there may not be general agreement on a name. I learn that more
work on animal studies needs to be completed. I learn to be content with
knowing more about a species by getting out and collecting it myself. My
observations can help solve problems. So can yours. Get in the act with
me. Write it up and we'll have copy for Texas Conchologist.

You -see=———== now I have been told that at least one of the species we thought
we had figured out is not that species, but I can't tell you what it is!

Dr. Robert Robertson, researcher at the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia, has been studying Epitonium albidum (Orbigny, 1842) in the
West Indies. At AMU this summer he made another report on this animal. In
general conversation with me he said that he feels that what we have here is

not Epitonium albidum and that what we have occurs also in the Carolinas.
That is all I can report at this time. We have always known that our speci-
mens did not have bladelike costae, but we thought other things seemed to
compare favorably. We have not been able to observe these Epitoniums in
natural habitat. We do collect some at the pass areas and on sandy beaches,
but we do think they arrive there from offshore. We have yet to see them on
anemones. So from now on, I guess I'll list this as "albidum" or leave the

specific name blank. Probably a lot of other Texas species should be treated
similarly.

KKKKKKKKKEKK

In cataloging shells at the Houston Museum of Natural Science I set my

standards for information added to the book to include the correct author and
date for each species I catalog.

For some years, the shell collector who has entered shell shows has been
told that complete and correct data include adding the author and date

for each specimen exhibited. Sometimes points are awarded or subtracted

by judges on this data. I've hunted frantically for dates through the years
to add to the authors I could find easier.

As long as I concerned myself with shells from North America and the Panamic
Province I had two classics, American Seashells by Abbott and Seashells of
Tropical West America by Keen to give me the authors and dates I needed.
However, once I branched into shells from other shores, I found difficulties
in getting full data. Frequently I could find the author but many popular
publications omit the dates. I also had trouble knowing if the name I had
was the original one as there was no consistency in publications on using
brackets if genera had been changed. Epitonium angulatum (Say, 1830) is
correct, for instance. It was originally described as Scalaria clathrus
angulata Say, 1830.

At HMNS I started cataloging some of the worldwide shells given by Sam and
Fannie Miron recently, and I have had quite a time finding some dates. Most
of the major families have been reported in separate books in recent years
so cones, olives, volutes, Murex, cowries, etc., are easy to find, unless
they are new species. Shells like Calliostoma and most of the bivalves are
hard to find.

Dr. T. E. Pulley has been most helpful in guiding me through the books to
find authors and dates. He has pointed out that it is easier to find
authors and dates if the species is an old one. Sherborn's Index Animalium
from 1758-1850 is a wonderful index of specific names. The Zoological
Record of Mollusca was started in 1864 by the Zoological Society of London
and is done by subject, author, geographical and systematic indexing and

is much harder for me to use than Index Animalium, but it is still continued
today and you can find authors and dates in time. The period from 1850

to 1870 was completed by Florence A. Ruhoff and issued as Smithsonian
Contributions to Zoology #294. It is a continuation of Sherborn's index
system and also includes a bibliography of molluscan literature written

during the period as well as a taxonomic list alphabetically arranged by
genera.

Solving some of the puzzles is not really easy for me yet, but I am learning
to find the authors and dates. I am still stumpedon some of the recent names,
especially those coming from Japan, usually the fascinating new shells brought
up in nets, and some of the new species I learn about but know nothing of
author or where the shell was named. Some helpful hints come from dealer's
lists. Abbott's and Dance'’s new Compendium of Seashells, due out before
Christmas, promises to list 4,000 shells, all with authors and dates and
major synonyms. This will be a big help.

KKKKKKKKRKKK
This is a CORRECTION NOTE.

The April, 1982, issue of Texas Conchologist had a report in Search and
Seizure concerning a collection in the bay at Port O'Connor, Texas. “I said
that Ostrea permolis was everywhere on old shells, etc. I certainly knew
better and wrote permolis by mistake. I meant Ostrea equestris.

This gives me the chance to point out to you that this issue of Texas

Conchologist carries an outline of how to supply oysters to Dr. Harold
Harry for his research program on worldwide oysters. Several members

have been involved in bringing back live and alcoholic specimens from

travels, and Dr. Harry has been most appreciative of their efforts.

He would be pleased to receive some oysters, including true Ostrea permolis,
from divers going to reefs, wrecks, etc., in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dr. Harry's research began when he and his wife vacationed at Puerto Vallarta
on the Mexican West Coast. He found that oysters were being sold on the
street and questioned the vendors about the source of the shells. He also
collected four different species and brought them home for study. Later he
researched at the Smithsonian and from time to time works on the collections
there for the Smithsonian. Now he has undertaken a worldwide review and is
busy acquiring oysters from many sources. Right in the middle of the
Falklands war, he received oysters from Argentina brought in by plane to
Seattle and mailed to him from there. On my trip to West Australia last
spring I was labelled "Connie Oyster" because I kept asking for locations

to collect live oysters. We were cruising down the Swan River and I saw
oyster bars all along the river at Perth. I found out the oysters were
imported from Sydney because the natives of Perth don't think much of their
local small oysters. I finally got my fill of oysters at Weld Island up

the coast as it turned out to be mostly an island of oysters. (We did not
eat them!)

To get back to my goof an equestris, I point out that it is impossible to

know if you have this species unless you examine the inside of the shells.
Abbott's figure of equestris will explain. See page 455 of the 1974 edition
of American Seashells. In our bay areas sometimes young Crassostrea virginica

and Ostrea equestris live together on old shells or cement slabs, etc. You
have to open the shells to know the species.

As far as I know, Ostrea permolis only lives offshore today in our area.
The Northwest Gulf Mollusk Population Survey material at the Houston Museum
of Natural Science includes only a single valve of permolis taken from sponge |
dredged off Sabine Pass, Texas. The museum does have some of the large old
valves from the Port Aransas, Texas area that may be fossil. Dr. Pulley
pointed out that some of the valves taken in the dredge in the channel at
Port Aransas on one of our trips on the University of Texas Marine Institute
boat were this species. The only ones I have from the Gulf of Mexico that
were live came in on sponge dredged by a shrimper off Freeport, Texas, and
on a piece of coral dredged off Brownsville, Texas.

SHELL COLLECTING IN FLORIDA STATE PARKS By Lucy Clampit

While Helen Eberspacher was visiting the state park in Port St. Joe, Florida
in April, she was informed by a park ranger that she should not be collecting
shells containing live animals. The park brochure does say that animal life
in the park is protected. Since many of us have visited and recommend the
park as a good shell collecting area, I felt this should be investigated.

The reply that I received from the Florida Department of Natural Resources
contained the following information which pertains to all state parks:

1. Collecting of small quantities of sea shells is permitted, but
the state asks that only shells with no living animal in them be
removed from the park.

2. Scallops may be collected for food.

3. Under no circumstances are queen conchs and coral to be collected.

4. A permit is required for collecting land and tree snails.

The bay at Port St. Joe is an excellent collecting area, and is accessible
in locations other than the park. Regardless of where we collect, we should
always practice conservation. Otherwise, we will find more places closed

to collecting.

DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTING AND SHIPPING OYSTERS

A few true oysters are obtained by dredging, but most species live inter-
tidally or in shallow (to 30 meters) depth. The latter are best removed
from their attachment with a genuine "oyster knife" used by commercial
oyster harvesters. But a strong bladed linoleum knife, or even a sharpened
screw driver or similar tool will suffice.

Live oysters for later anatomical study should be put directly into 10%
formalin or 70% alcohol (ethyl or isopropyl) soon after they are collected.
To ship them, specimens should be wrapped in a small amount of cotton or
paper towel wet with the preservative, and placed in a strong plastic bag.
The wrapping protects the delicate sculpture, especially the marginal area,
and also keeps the specimens wet. All excess fluid should be poured off,
only enough left to keep the specimens moist.

A label, written in soft pencil or waterproof ink on a good grade of paper,
should have date and locality of the collection, the name of the collector,
and pertinent data about the habitat (depth, substrate, etc). The label is
put inside the bag, and the latter is securely tied to prevent leaking
(Zip-lock bags are useful). To ship, place the bags in a strong cardboard
box, with an excess of absorbent packing material, such as crumpled news-
paper. The packing will hold any fluid which leaks from the sacks and
prevent damage to the package. Wrap the package and address it.

Send by air mail to:

Harold W. Harry

4612 Evergreen Street
Bellaire, Texas

77401

(ieee

Identification of the specimens will be furnished the sender, and all
specimens will be returned if that is desired. Specimens which I am
allowed to keep will ultimately be given to the U.S. National Museum of
Natural History, Washington, D.C., with data acknowledging the collector.

If the amount is agreed upon before shipping, I will pay a reasonable price
for material which I especially need. Specimens need not be of "superior"
quality, indeed, ones showing variation in size, form, etc, are useful, and
often specimens which are broken in removing them from the substrate are very
useful. Fossil material, and even dead shells, are welcome.

Your consideration will be much appreciated.

MONOGRAPH By H. ODE

DISTRIBUTION AND RECORDS OF THE MARINE MOLLUSCA IN
THE NORTHWEST GULF OF MEXICO
(A Continuing Monograph)

PART II: GASTROPODA
Family CYMATIIDAE (Continued)
Genus Cymatium Roding, 1798
12. Cymatium pileare (Linne,1758)

In Texas offshore waters this is a very confusing species because
there are two separable forms living on the coral reefs. The
differences are slight, but nevertheless clearly recognizable. One
form is of a darker more purplish brown than the other, is more
slender and somewhat more finely sculptured. In general, it is
somewhat more fusiform. The other form is more orange brown in
color, its sculpture is rougher and it has stronger knobs. Both
forms occur mixed on the Texas offshore coral reefs. In the Survey
Collection we have separated them both in accordance with Clench and
Turner's treatment in Johnsonia, Volume 3, No. 36. We have con-
sidered them to be the same species. The dark form is the original
pileare. The lighter, more orange form with rougher sculpture was
originally described as C. aquatile Reeve. As far as I know
aquatile is only known from the Indo Pacific (Philippines). A
fairly close illustration of these two forms can be found in
Eisenberg's Guide to Sea Shells. Unfortunately, however, on this
plate the legends of Figures 15 and 15A got switched, so that Figure
15 is aquatile Reeve and Figure 15A must be pileare. Further infor-
mation about pileare can be found in Dodge, 1957, pages 117-120.
Whether both forms which can be easily distinguished should be
named differently we cannot decide on the basis of our material.
Also Reeve 1844, Plate 7, Figures 23 and 24 gives a more or less
adequate illustration of the difference between the two forms.
This species is also figured by Lipka 1974, p. 176, figs 3/guaee
Although a few specimens of this species have been collected on
South Texas beaches, no material from this source is present in
the HMNS Survey Collection. In our collection is present a
beautiful protoconch with the beginning of the calcareous shell
closely resembling the socalled Dissentoma prima of Pilsbry.
Laursen 1981 discussed other juvenile material.
Records HMNS Survey Collection:
Dark and slender form: 7 lots, of which 3 contain live collected
material; all except one lot comes from the offshore coral reefs.
Depth range: 6 lots 40-90 feet, 1 lot 40-50 feet, 8 miles south of
Freeport.
Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 73 mm.
Records HMNS Survey Collection for coarse, orange forms: 5 lots,
1 containing live collected material.
Depth range: 50-90 feet.
Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 70 mm.
Geographical range: South Carolina to Texas; Brazil; Bermuda;
Also in Indo Pacific.

43%

14.

jess

16.

Cymatium nicobaricum (Roding, 1798)

This species, formerly known as chlorostomum, is fairly common
on the offshore reefs where a fair number of live specimens were
collected. Texas material is often, even when alive, rather
corroded and the colors are somewhat drab. Apparently, in Texas,
the species sometimes attains an unusually large size.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 12 lots of which 5 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 40-90 feet.

Geographical range: Southeast Florida to Brazil; Bermuda;
Also in Indo Pacific.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 77 mm.

Cymatium muricinum (Roding, 1798)

This smaller species is also known as C. tuberosum Lamarck. It
occurs like the previous one, in fair numbers on offshore coral
reefs and is easily recognized by its backward-pointing siphonal
canal, rather coarse sculpturing and extensive parietal shield.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 3 lots all containing live collected
material.

Depth range: 50-90 feet.

Geographical range: Southeast Florida, West Indies to Brazil,
Bermuda, Also Indo Pacific.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 48 mm.

Cymatium cingulatum (Lamarck, 1822)

This species so far reported as C. poulsoni Morch, which is a
synonym, is fairly common offshore the South Texas Coast. Beach
material can occasionally be found on the beaches of St. Joseph,
Mustang and Padre Island. It is rarer east of Matagorda but in
the Survey Collection there is material from South of Freeport
and from Stetson Bank. The species is easily recognized by its
spiral sculpture, thinner shell and wide mouth. The species has
not been taken on the coral reefs.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 6 lots, no live material.

Depth range: 0-30 fms.

Geographical range: Mexico, Texas to North Carolina, Brazil, Bermuda.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 5/7 mm.

Cymatium parthenopeum (von Salis, 1793)

This is a relatively uncommon species off the Texas coast. There
are some live collected juvenile shells in the Collection which
are remarkable by their golden brown and hairy appearance. It
should be noted especially that as the previous species it is not
taken on the coral reefs, but derives from Stetson Bank (shale)
and a similar bank off Louisiana and various outcrops on the sea
bottom. It may also be mentioned here that beautiful fresh
material has been collected on Mexican beaches 70 miles south of
The Texas border. ©

Fig. 1 Cymatium pileare (Linne, 1758) collected at Three Hickey Rock, shale
dome 9845 miles SSE of Cameron, La. Collected by divers from a USS destroyer
trip helping to get material for the Northwest Gulf Mollusk Population Survey,

50-60 feet .“July 9, 1972.

Fig. 2 Cymatium pileare (aquatile form) collected at Stetson Bank by
divers from the USS Ault August, 1971. This miocene shale outcrop was at
70-90 ft. depth and is 74 miles SSE of Galveston, Texas.

Fig. 3 Cymatium rubeculum occidentale Clench and Turner, 1947 was
collected by divers from the USS Haynsworth from the ‘18 fathom lump" at
180-185 ft. This calcareous algal bio-hermal lump is 114 miles SSE of
Cameron, La. Collection was made August 9, 1969.

Fig. 4 Cymatium vespaceum (Lamarck, 1822) was collected by divers on a
destroyer trip to Claypile Shale Dome some 79 miles SE of Galveston, Texas
at LOO "ft. , July 9, 1972.

Photos by Constance E. Boone

it.

rs.

Tesh

References Used:

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 6 lots of which 3 contain live collec-
ted material.

Depth range: 70-185 feet.

Geographical range: Texas to North Carolina, Brazil, Bermuda, Also
in -indo *Paciiie.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 83 mm.

Cymatium krebsi Morch, 1877

Apparently a rare species off the Texas coast. In the Survey
Collection are 4 lots each of a single specimen, one collected
alive. Three of these lots derive from shale outcrops - not from
the coral or algal environment - and one comes from a shelly
bottom at 20 fms. south of Galveston. Our material agrees
closely with the discussion of Clench and Turner in Johnsonia; the
color is whitish and indeed two larger collumellar lamellae are
present in the mouth. Laursen 1981 has identified a single
juvenile fragment from a shale uplift off Louisiana as this species.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 4 lots, 1 alive.

Depth range: 17-40 fms., alive at 17 fms.

Geographical range: Florida, North Carolina, Caribbean

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 48 mn.

Cymatium vespaceum (Lamarck, 1822)

There is only scant material of this small species present in
the Survey Collection. Only three small lots are present, none
from the coral reefs, but one from a shelly bottom, another from
a shale uplift, and a third lot comes from the algal reef.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 3 lots, no live material.

Depth range: 16-30 fms.

Geographical range: North Carolina to West Indies, Brazil and
Bermuda.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 22 mm.

Cymatium rubeculum occidentale Clench and Turner, 1947

Three lots of this unusual species were obtained, one alive from
the algal reef and the others dead material from Stetson Bank.
The identification of some heavily encrusted: shells from the algal
reef is not always certain because their size appears to be on
the large side for this species (36 mm).

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 3 lots, one containing live collected
material.

Depth range: 15-30 fms.

Geographical range: Southeast Florida; West Indies, Brazil

Maximum size in HMNS Collection: 36 mm.

Reeve, L. 1844 Conchologica Iconica, Vol. 2, Plate 7, 1 Triton
See figures 23 and 24.

Eisenberg, J. M. 1981 A Collectors Guide to Seashells of the World,
158 plates (see pl. 65).

Dodge, H. 1957 A Historical Review of the Mollusks of Linnaeus,
Part 5, The Genus Murex of the Class Gastropoda. Bull. Amer.
Mus Nat wehist.., Vol.-113, @). pp. 77-222.
(See pages 117-120)

Family TONNIDAE Peile, 1926.

In the Survey Collection are only two species of this interesting family.
One of them is the sometimes very large tun shell, Tonna galea; the other
belongs to the deep water genus Oocorys.

Genus Tonna Brunnich, 1/7/72
20. Tonna galea (Linne, 1758)

This species is well known and is figured in most popular books
for collectors. It is well distributed along the Texas coast,
but live material has not been obtained in our survey. On rare
occasions live, rather juvenile, material has been taken on the
beach but no such material is in our collection. Broken and
fragmentary material is often dredged along the Texas coast.
Characteristic are the green, non-calcified protoconchs which
are deformable without breaking and which are sometimes: present
in dredgings.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 24 lots, no live material

Depth range: 0-65 fms.

Geographical range: North Carolina to Texas; to Brazil;Medit.,Indo-Pacific

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: The largest obtained
specimen, now on permanent display, was not measured.

Genus Oocorys Fischer, 1883
21. Oocorys bartschi Rehder, 1943
A single immature specimen of this rather unusual species was
dredged in 70 fms. southeast of Corpus Christi. It is a some-
what thin but strong shell, with a rather reduced spire.
Records HMNS Survey Collection: 1 lot, no live material.
Depth range: 70 fms.
Geographical range: Texas here reported; off Southeast Florida
Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 60 mm.
Family STROMBIDAE Rafinesque, 1815
Of this well known family two species are common along the Texas coast,
each in its own type of environment. Two other species have been taken,
but the records are rare.
Genus Strombus Linne, 1/58

22. Strombus alatus Gmelin, 1791

Extremely common along the Texas coast where it is often
dredged alive. It lives on shelly and sandy and even quite

muddy bottoms. Sometimes dead specimens can be found on the
beaches and occasionally live matérial has been collected on the
beach, mainly from Port Aransas southward. Abbott (1960) in Indo
Pacific Mollusca, Vol. 1(2), states that in all known cases
Strombidae are herbivorous or detritus feeders. The extremely dark
and muddy waters of the Texas coast makes a herbivorous mode of life
for this species quite unlikely. Juvenile specimens are often
spotted brown. Laursen 1981 studied some of the protoconchs.
Records HMNS Survey Collection: 60 lots of which 17 contain live
collected material.
Depth range: 0-50 fms.; alive: 0-25 fms., with optimum at about
8-15 fms.
Geographical range: Texas, both sides of Florida to North Carolina
Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 104 mn.

23. Strombus costatus Gmelin, 1791

Only a single, huge specimen was dredged in 100 feet off Louisiana
(Clay Pile Dome). It is an old senile specimen.
Records HMNS Survey Collection: 1 lot, no live material.
Depth range: 100 feet.
Geographical range: South Florida, West Indies to Brazil, Bermuda.
Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 208 mm.

24. Strombus raninus Gmelin, 1791

This species lives in fair abundance on the offshore coral reefs
and somewhat deeper algal environment.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 7 lots of which 4 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 10-30 fms.

Geographical range: Southeast Florida, West Indies to Brazil, Bermuda.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 82 mn.

25. Strombus gigas Linne, 1758

A fair sized specimen of this species was collected on the Texas
Flower Gardens, but unfortunately it is no longer present in the
Survey Collection. When it was brought up alive, the author
handled it and was surprised and shocked when he was hit hard by
the operculum and almost dropped the specimen overboard. So far
as it is known to me this is the only specimen reported with
certainty from Texas. Vague rumors persist that other specimens
have been taken at the same location.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: none present.

Depth range: +15 fms. (alive)

Geographical range: Southeast Florida, West Indies, Bermuda.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: not measured.

Family XENOPHORIDAE Philippi, 1853
Only a single species of the genus Xenophora is present in the HMNS

Survey Collection. The genus Tugurium has as far as I know not yet
been found in the Gulf of Mexico west of the Mississippi. The genera

Xenophora and Tugurium were treated by Clench and Aguayo in 1943 in Johnsonia,
Wo. 1, -(18).

Genus Xenophora G. Fischer, 1807

26. Xenophora conchyliophora (Born, 1780)

A considerable number of specimens of this well known species
in the HMNS Survey Collection is remarkable by the fact that
instead of shell fragments the animals have cemented pieces of
dark Miocene shale to their shells. These specimens derive from
Miocene shale uplifts such as Stetson Bank off the Texas and
Louisiana coast. However, material collected on shelly bottoms
invariably shows only cemented bivalve fragments such as Corbula,
Anadara, Chlamys, and Gouldia.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 20 lots, no live but some quite fresh
dead material.

Depth range: 15-55 fms.

Geographical range: West Indies to North Carolina; Bermuda, Brazil.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: width base 45 mm, height 35 mn.

Family NATICIDAE Gray, 1846

This family occurs with a fair number of species in all 3 subfamilies in the
Western Gulf of Mexico. In the HMNS Survey Collection there are a number of
species, which although they are present in many lots nevertheless have not
been reported before from the Gulf of Mexico. In previous listing I had
given them as Natica sp. A, B, etc.

The Polinicinae which have a chitinous operculum, and an umbilicus partially
or completely filled by a button-like callus are represented by the genus
Polinices - 3 species in different environments - the genus Sigatica - l
species, the genus Lunatia - possibly several species in deep water, and the
genus Amauropsis, a probably undescribed species, which may be a Pleistocene
fossil.

The Sininae which have a shell with a very much enlarged last whorl and
large aperture, are represented by the genus Sinum - 2 species.

Finally the Naticinae are represented by five different species, occurring
from shallow to very deep water. Often the calcareous opercula are found

in dredgings and of one species it is only the operculum that is present in
aur collection.

Genus Polinices Montfort, 1810
27. Polinices duplicatus (Say, 1822)

This is an extremely common species in shallow water and along
the sandy beaches of Texas, where it can be collected in the sand
and mudflats during low tide burrowed in the sand. In juvenile
material (very young) the umbilicus is already closed, then at the
same time a button and an opening form. Offshore dredged material
is quite often covered by bryozoa commensal with hermit crabs. It

ik?

28.

is quite remarkable that bay material is shaped somewhat differ-
ently from offshore shells. The bay populations have a deeper
suture, are rounder, and are somewhat thinner shelled, and in
general are darker colored. In other words the typical flattening
of the offshore form is not present, so that sometimes the bay
populations produce forms in which the height exceeds the width.
Records HMNS Survey Collection: 65 lots of which 28 lots contain live
collected material.
Depth range: 0-26 fms.; alive: 0-74 fms. One live shell from 25
fms. remains somewhat of a puzzle. Most live material comes from
the beach, but one lot from Ship Shoal Bank off Louisiana at 7% fms.
Geographical range: Western Gulf of Mexico to Florida to Massachusetts.
Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 82 mm width, 63 mm height from
Galveston West Beach.

Polinices lacteus (Guilding, 1834)

The material in the HMNS Survey Collection derives from the
offshore coral banks, algal reefs, and Miocene shale uplifts
such as Stetson. I do not believe that there is more than one
species in this material although a few could be called P.
uberinus (Orbigny). It is quite likely that the latter is merely
a form of lacteus and does not deserve specific rank. Many of our
lots consist merely of a number of very juvenile shells ranging in
size from 4-2mm. These are common on the reefs and can be easily
recognized by their translucent character, spherical form and
clearly accentuated but extremely minute brown apex on the white
shell.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 14 lots, no live collected material.

Depth range: 12-30 fms.

Geographical Range: Gulf of Mexico to North Carolina; Bermuda, Brazil.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 19 mm.

Polinices hepaticus (Roding, 1798)

Only a single immature of this species is in the HMNS Survey
Collection. It was collected on Stetson Bank. The species was
once found alive on the beaches of Padre Island.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 1 lot

Depth range: + 30 fms.
Geographical range: Southeast Florida, Texas; West Indies and Brazil.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 5 mm.

Genus Sigatica Meyer and Aldrich, 1886

30.

Sigatica carolinensis (Dall, 1889)

Only 3 lots of this small and characteristic shell were collected.
They are recognizable by the spiral grooves below the suture. All
three lots come from relatively shallow water, and sandy, shelly
bottoms, from an area south of Galveston and Heald Bank. It could
be that they are Pleistocene in age.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 3 lots, no live material.

Depth range: 6%-11 fms.

Geographical range: Florida to North Carolina; West Indies.
Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 5 mm.

Finally there is in the Collection some material from deeper water, very
incomplete and unfortunately juvenile that in all probability belongs to
the genus Lunatia. We will not try to attach a trivial name to it, but

list them here.

. 7One lot; juvenile, from 450- fms:

. One lot, juvenile, from 450 fms. (Clearly different from
Species A)

Cc One lot, juvenile, from 50 fms.

D. One lot, juvenile, from 56% fms.

Lunatia Sp.
Lunatia sp.

Lunatia

+tunatia sp-
Lunatia sp.

Genus Amauropsis Morch, 1857

ili

Amauropsis sp. A.

A single specimen of an unknown species was taken in rather shallow
water. It is possible that it could be a Lunatia but the entire
shell form is much closer to Amauropsis. The umbilicus is a quite
narrow slitlike opening. The suture is quite deep and it looks like
a very depressed islandica. It is possibly a Pleistocene fossil.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 1 lot.

Depth range: 74 fms.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 5 mm.

Genus Sinum Woodring, 1928

Bot

Sinum perspectivum (Say, 1831)

This well known species is usually quite common in beachdrift along
the Texas coast. The animal is much larger than the shell and
when collected alive on the sand flats look like a piece of salted
pork, father firm but slimy. It burrows in thesand. Quite
unusual even in shallow offshore water. Juveniles of up to a few
millimeters can be picked up from beach drift. The very young
have an open umbilicus which soon becomes overgrown by a callus.
Abbott reports sizes of up to 2 inches for this common beach shell
but material that large is not known from Texas. Some fragments
are present in the Survey Collection that come from Stetson Bank.
These in all probability are fossils, which lived in shallow water
(Pleistocene) before the rise of the sea level. They look quite old.
Records HMNS Survey Collection: 19 lots, of which two contain live
collected material.
Depth range: 0-30 fms.; alive; 0 fms. All material in our Survey
Collection collected below 9 fms. is probably fossil.
Geographical range: Maryland to Florida to Texas and West Indies;
Bermuda; Brazil.
Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 26 mm.

Sinum minor Dall, 1889

This species was described by Dall, (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool.,
Vol. 8, p. 297) is the deep water representative of Sinum and

much smaller than S. perspectivum. Although Dall gives as 4.0 mn.
for altitude and 6.0 mm. for its width, the species grows at least
twice that large. Superficially it resembles S. perspectivum guite
closely but is more inflated and hence less flat. It may be merely
a deep water form of S. perspectivum, but against that hypothesis
the argument can be advanced that no Sinum is found in the depth
range 10-35 fms.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 3 lots, none alive.

Depth range: 35-70 fms.

Geographical range: Florida Keys, West Indies.

Maximum size HMNS Survey Collection: 13 mm.

Finally it may be mentioned two other species not present in the HMNS Survey
Collection have been taken in the Western Gulf of Mexico. Sinum maculatum
is present in the Houston Museum collection from the beaches of Mexico south
of the Rio Grande. Also Haliotinella patinaria was reported from the Flower
Garden coral reef.

Sources: Eveline and Ernst Marcus (1965), "On Haliotinella patinaria
(Gastropoda: Naticidae), Bull. Marine Science, Vol. 15, (1),
ppe 211-215,
D.A. Lipka: Mollusks, in Bright, T. J. and Pequenat, L.H.
(editors), 1974. "Biota of the West Flower Garden Bank.
pp. 142-163.

Genus Natica Scopoli, 1777
34. Natica canrena (Linne, 1758)

A fairly common offshore species but exceedingly rare on the
beach. There exists a difficulty in identification in older worn
material without color pattern especially in immature shells. The
small radial grooves close to the suture, in early whorls are
characteristic, but another species also has them, but more closely
spaced. The color pattern of some fresher material is clearly
that of canrena. Opercula are often found in dredgings and differ
characteristically from those of related species. Live material is
somewhat rare.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 33 lots of which 1 contain live material
at 10 fms.

Depth range: Zero (beach) - 55 fms.

Geographical range: Key West to North Carolina; Bermuda; Brazil.

Maximum size HMNS Survey Collection: 27 mm.

35. Natica pusilla Say, 1822

This is with P. duplicatus the most common naticid of the Louisiana
Texas coast. In its very juvenile stages difficult to separate from
canrena. It occurs along all beaches but descends into deeper

water than P. duplicatus. Elevation of the spire is rather variable
and juvenile specimens are never so depressed as P. duplicatus.

Also the suture is deeper and the shell far more spherical. Natica
canrena is as juvenile quite similar but its apex is somewhat
different. The species has a very faint color pattern mostly

36%

aT.

consisting of regularly arranged brown blotches or is somewhat
banded. Normal is a whitish band near the suture on a blotchv
background. Others show, however, a more zigzag pattern and still
others amore or less livid color. It is often taken from starfish
stomachs. The operculum.is quite different from the multigrooved
operculum or canrena. N. pusilla has only a single groove close
to the outer edge of the operculum. It is remarkable that in this
species often shells are collected which have been drilled by some
natacid and the question may be asked whether this species eats its
own kind.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 105 lots of which 36 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 0-40 fms.; alive 0-23 fms.; but mostly shallower than
12 fms.

Geographical range: Maine to Florida, Gulf States: Brazil.

Maximum size HMNS Survey Collection: /7 mm.

Natica marochiensis Gmelin, 1791.

This fairly widespread form lives in deeper water than Natica
pusilla all along the Texas coast. We have previously reported
this ‘species as Natica sp..B. (Ode, H; Tex. Conchol, Vol. 9
p- 66). The color pattern consists of a whitish band around the
suture below which are placed some irregularly spaced stripes.
The operculum is quite different from canrena. There are only a
few grooves close to its edge. For a precise description see Dall
1889, reprint 1967, Blake Report p. 292. Dall called this species
maroceana Dillwyn.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 27 lots, two of which contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 10-51 fms.; alive 30-35 fms.

Geographical range: Southeast Florida to Brazil.

Maximum size HMNS Survey Collection: 11 mn.

Natica castrensis Dall, 1889 (See Blake Report, p. 293)

This deep water species is superficially fairly close to N.
canrena, but differs in being smaller, the umbilical callus
is more slender, the upper whorls are somewhat more elevated
and carry deeper and more closely spaced wrinkles than N.
canrena. The color pattern is somewhat spotty and blurred.
Most specimens in the Survey Collection are worn but one
specimen is very fresh from 140 fms.

The operculum is probably quite unlike that of canrena but quite
close to that of marochiensis. We have some loose opercula
collected with specimens of castrensis, but we have no definite
proof that they belong together. Most of our lots come from
between 50-70 fms.

Previously reported as Natica sp. A. (Ode 1973, Texas Conchologist
Voi. .9, p. 66).

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 12 lots, no live material.

Depth range: 25-140 fms.

Geographical range: Florida Keys, West Indies

Maximum size HMNS Survey Collection: 18 mm.

DRIFT SAMPLE FROM PORT O'CONNOR By Jim Keeler

The morning after our rained-out field trip to Matagorda Island it was
bright and sunny in Port O'Connor, Texas. A small group had stayed over-
night and it was decided that we would do a little shelling on the bay side
of town. After poking through sandy shallows near the jetties we went to
the sandy/muddy clay bay shore just beyond the northern edge of town. This

area is known for the presence of boring bivalves such as Cyrtopleura costata
and other similar species.

It was here that I scooped up about a quart of drift material at Connie
Boone's suggestion. Since then I've spent a number of evenings armed with
a low-power microscope and a small artist's paint brush sorting the small
shells out of the waste material.

Everyone seems to have his or her own particular way of sorting through
dredgings, drift, or grunge for microshells. My approach is a modification
of the technique demonstrated to me by the Academy of Natural Sciences of
Philadelphia. I use a 6-inch by 8-inch plastic meat tray from the grocery
store on the stage of a low-power (10 to 30X) binocular microscope with
high intensity lamp illumination from above. (A clamped magnifying glass,

a headband incorporating magnifying eyepieces, or magnifying lenses attached
to eyeglass temples as used by jewelers can be used since the needed
magnifications are usually 10 to 30 times. A microscope is much easier

to use although more expensive. Sometimes a used microscope can be purchased
if one is lucky.)

A piece of black cardboard (or black paper) is placed in the bottom of the
tray and 2 or 3 ounces of material to be sorted is spread out on the black
surface in the half of the surface away from me. I also place 3 or 4
one-inch diameter plastic medicine vial covers with the lips up in the tray
along the left side. One of these is for gastropods and scaphopods, one
for tiny bivalves, one for unusual specimens to be reexamined at the end of
the sorting, and the fourth for any particular family I am searching for.

The actual process of sorting is done with an artist's small watercolor
paintbrush which is used as a minute broom. (Some people like to use
tweezers, or the flat-surfaced postage-stamp tweezers.) I hold the brush

as I would a pen or pencil and sweep the material to be discarded toward me
as I observe through the microscope. When a desirable shell is found I

push the bristles of the brush down over the shell spreading the bristles
out around the shell. Then when the brush is raised the bristles are allowed
to contract around the shell. The shell can then be lifted in the grasp of
the bristles and put in the appropriate vial cover at the left of the tray.
If the shell is too large for the bristles of the brush, fingers or

a tweezer can be used. Sometimes I moisten the wooden tip of the brush with
my tongue and use the tip to pick up a particularly flat, stubborn shell.

When the tray is completed, the contents of the vial covers are poured into
individually labelled medicine vials to be added to as other trays of the
same sample are sorted.

After sorting of the Port O'Connor sample, Tucker Abbott's American Seashells,
various issues of Texas Conchologist dealing with the Northwestern Gulf

Survey material, and Jean Andrews’ Shells and Shores of Texas were used for
identification along with a confirmation session or two at the Houston

Museum of Natural Science.

Generally for Caribbean microshells, caning =e such as Warmke and Abbott's

Florida, Percy Morris' Field Guide to Shells of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts

ee ee ee

and the West Indies, Clench and Turner's The Western Atlantic Marine Mollusks
Described by C.B. Adams (Occasional Papers of the Harvard Museum of Comparative
Zoology), Kaicher's Card Catalog of World Wide Shells, and others are used.

In this case these latter references were not necessary.

The following list of seventy species of marine shells found in this drift
sample is an indication of the variety that can be obtained at one time.

GASTROPODS

Acteocina canaliculata (Say, 1822)
Acteon punctostriata (C.B. Adams, 1240)
Anachis,obesa (C.B. Adams, 1845)
Boonea impressa (Say, 1822)

Caecum pulchellum (Stimpson, 1851)
Cerithidea pliculosa (Menke, 1829)
Cerithium lutosum (Menke, 1828)
Crepidula fornicata fornicata Linne, 1758
Crepidula plana Say Say, 1822

Creseis acicula (Rang, 1828)

Diastoma varium (Pfeiffer, 1840)
Epitonium angulatum (Say, 1830)
Epitonium rupicola (Kurtz, 1860)
Eulimastoma harbisonae Bartsch, 1955
Litiopa melanostoma Rang, 1829
Littorina nebulosa (Lamarck, 1822)
Meioceras nitidum Stimpson, 1851
Mitrella lunata (Say, 1826)

Modulus modulus (Linne, 1758)

Nassarius acutus (Say, 1822)

Neritina virginea (Linne, 1758)
Odostomia gibbosa Bush , 1909
Pyramidella crenulata (Holmes, 1859)
Pyrgocythara plicosa (C.B. Adams, 1850)
Rissoina catesbyana Orbigny, 1842
Sayella _ livida Rehder, 1935

Seila adamsi (B.C. bea, 1845)

Sinum perspectivum (Say, 1822)
Tectonatica pusilla Say, 1822
Teinostoma biscayense Pilsbry and McGinty, 1945
Texadina barretti (Morrison, 1965)
Texadina sphinctostoma (Abbott and Ladd, 1951)
Truncatella caribaeensis Reeve, 1842
Turbonilla interrupta (Totten, 1835)
Turbonilla (Chemnitzia) sp.

Turbonilla (Pyrgiscus) sp.

Vermicularia spirata Philippi, 1836

BIVALVES

Abra aequalis (Say, 1822)

Aligena texasiana texasiana Harry, 1969
Amygdalium papyrii papyria (Conrad, 1846)
Anadara ovalis (Bruguiere, 1798)
Anadara transversa (Say, 1822)
Anomalocardia auberiana (Orbigny, 1842)
Anomia simplex Orbigny, 1845

Barbatia domingensis (Lamarck, 1819)
Brachidontes exustus (Linne, 1758)
Crassinella lunulata (Conrad, 1834)
Crassostrea virginica (Gmelin, 1791)
Cyrtopleura costata costata (Linne, 1758)
Diplodonta semiaspera (Philippi, 1836)
Diplodonta soror, C.B. Adams, 1852
Donax texasianum Philippi, 1847

Ensis minor Dall, 1900

Gemma gemma (Totten, 1834)

Lyonsia gating floridana Conrad, 1848
Macoma constricta (Bruguiere, 1792)
Macoma fragilis Gmelin, 1791

Macoma mitchelli Dall, 1895

Mulinia lateralis (Say, 1822)

Mysella planulata (Stimpson, 1851)
Nuculana concentrica Say, 1824
Periploma margaritac Margaritaceum (Lamarck, 1801)
Petricola pholadiformis (Lamarck, 1818)
Sphenia antillensis antillensis Dall and Simpson, 1901
Tagelus plebius plebius (Lightfoot, 1786)
Tellina Tampaensis Conrad, 1866
Tellina Versicolor DeKay, 1843

SCAPHOPODS
Dentalium texasianum Philippi, 1849

ska eKKKEK

A poster featuring jellyfish, rays, toadfish, bristle worms, catfish, sea
urchins, scorion fish, stargazers, fire sponges and octopi, "all dangerous
marine organisms found in the Gulf of Mexico", has been published by the
Texas A&M University Sea Grant College Program. A note in the paper said

it is available from that program for $1.00. The poster is an effort to
increase the awareness of swimmers, boaters, fishermen and even shellers

in the dangers in Gulf waters. It would make a good gift for your youngster.
It would be an aid to teachers. You might want one.

HOUSTON CONCHOLOGY SOCIETY, INC.

Officers 1982-1983

President

Program Vice-President
Field Trip Vice-President
Treasurer

Recording Secretary

Corresponding Secretary

Directors

Mary Ann Curtis
Ruth Finer

Charles Glover

Editor, Texas Conchologist

Immediate Past President

Lucy Clampit
Curtis Fleming
Al Mohle

Jim Sartor
Mimi Miller

Betty Genusa

Lloyd Meister
Fannie Miron

Bob Sappington

Constance E. Boone

David B. Green

Honorary Life Members

DE ictar ea Tulley

Dr. Helmer Odé

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CONCHOLOGIST

VOLUME XIX NO. 2

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JANUARY, 1983

The TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST is the official publication of the Houston Conchol-
ogy Society, Inc., and is published quarterly at Houston, Texas. It is
distributed as part of the dues to all members.

The TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST is published October, January, April and July.

It is mailed postpaid to regular members in U.S. postal zones. Overseas
members will be charged additional postage. Only one copy will be mailed
a family membership.

RATES AND DUES

Family membership

Single membership

Student membership

Single Issues

Extra sets mailed members

(Postage for overseas members required)

Subscription $10.00

(Seamail $5.00, Airmail outside U.S., $8.00)

EDITOR CIRCULATION

Constance E. Boone Mr. Grytch Williams
668-8252 664-2809

3706 Rice Boulevard 6644 Belmont
Houston, Texas 77005 Houston, Texas 77005

EDITORIAL STAFF

Helmer Ode'

3319 Big Bend Drive
Austin, Texas 78731
512=452-7794

HARBOUR ISLAND REVISITED by Helen Eberspacher

I wish it wasn't always such a hassle to get to Harbour Island in the
Bahamas. Of course, after getting to this beautiful place with its won-
derful shelling, I have always decided the effort was worth it.

In May, 1982, I made my third trip to this island, this time accompanied

by Carol Courtade, whom some of you know. This time we flew from Houston

to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where we changed planes for North Eleuthera,

our last air stop before taking a boat the rest of the way. Our connection
in Fort Lauderdale was with Pompano Airlines. We boarded their small plane
that held six to eight people, including the pilot. When we were loaded

and about to take off, the pilot told us all to get off and return to the
airport. When we were all gathered around Pompano's ticket desk, we were
told the plane weighed too much and that some of our luggage would have to
be left behind for the next flight which was the next morning. We then were
asked for a show of hands of those who would be willing to leave a bag. When
no one else raised a hand, good old Carol and Helen each volunteered one
bag. We thought we would be allowed to say which bags we were willing to
leave, but instead, both my bags and one of Carol's were brought in while we
were still at the desk. Fortunately, from past experience, I had had the
foresight to put overnight necessities and minimum shelling clothes, plus a
little food in a tote bag which I was carrying. Therefore, I was able to
survive that first night and the next day. Before going on to Harbour Island,
our plans were to spend our first two nights in the little town of Current
on Eleuthera Island and we had reservations at the Sea Raider Cottages there.
It so happened that a lady on the Pompano plane worked for Pompano Airlines
and lived just across the street from our cottage and she promised us that
she would see that our bags caught up with us the next day.

We had read about how good shell collecting is supposed to be on Eleuthera,
so we arranged with the manager of the cottages to rent a car the next day.
Early the next morning we took off for Governor's Harbour, about 40 miles
from Current, having to remember to drive on the left side of the road
according to British custom. As so often happens when looking for shells

in strange places, no one at Governor's Harbour could tell us where to go.

We picked up some very small stuff in the drift at the water's edge of the
harbor. A curious native passing by asked us what we were doing and then

she told us about a place where we might find some shells. We found the
place, but the only shells there were about a hundred long-dead, sun bleached
Milk Conchs, all about the same size - about half-grown I would guess. We
picked up a few of the best. We don't know why all these Milk Conchs happened
to be way up on the bank, but decided they were washed up there by high winds
and waves during a storm. If we could have found that spot a week or so
after it happened, we could have gathered enough pretty little Milk Conchs

to give one to every member of the Houston Conchology Society!

On our way back to Current, we stopped here and there without much luck,
finding only halves of Atlantic Winged Oysters, some dead Chitons and many
small West Indian Top Shells. Near Current, we investigated some exposed
sand bars and shallow grasses and found two live immature Queen Conchs, two
Milk Conchs, small star fish, several Amber Pen Shells, two Atlantic Pearl
Oysters which were attached to the Pens and several Olives popping up on the
bars. After that, we returned to our cottage and found our missing luggage
on the sidewalk in front of our door, much to our relief!

The next morning, we went to the dock and caught a boat to Harbour Island
where we had reservations at the Coral Sands Hotel for the little cottage
where we had stayed before. However, upon arriving at the Hotel, we found
that the cottage was occupied for the next couple of days and we would
have to stay in the hotel annex until the people left. Our apartment was
very nice, but had only a small refrigerator in the way of kitchen faci-
lities. That meant we would have to wait until we got in the cottage to
to take care of our live shells.

On our first morning at Harbour Island we shelled the Girls Bay, our favor-
ite place which was always productive. The tide was quite low and while

I was wading quite a way out from shore, a nice looking young man came

up to me and said, "Hello, you look like you know what you're doing - like
a real expert." I told him I wasn't an expert, but just loved to collect
shells and that I belonged to two shell clubs back home in Houston. He
then asked, ''The Houston Conchology Society?" When I said yes, he put out
his hand and said "So do I! My name is Don Hart." Continuing our conver-
sation, I found out that he and his wife, Sherrie, were the ones occupying
our cottage. It seems that they too were inconvenienced upon their arrival
at the Coral Sands and had to spend a few days elsewhere before they could
move into the cottage which they had reserved. Through some sort of mixup,
the cottage had been rented to some other people whose reservations over-
lapped part of the Harts' and the Harts' overlapped ours.

The next day, Don, Sherrie, Carol and I went out in a boat with Berlin
Cleare and his son, Rocky, and had a wonderful time. Have you ever waded
from one island to another? Well, the tide was so low that day that we
did just that and never got in water over knee deep. We collected huge
Star Fish, Queen Conchs, Gaudy Asaphis and I found a whole, though dead,
Lima, my first and only. The Harts left the next day and Carol and I
moved to the cottage. If any of you ever go to Harbour Island, the
cottage on the grounds of the Coral Sands Hotel is the place to stay,
because it has a real kitchen and lots of room to clean and spread your
shells out to dry.

Another day, Carol and I decided to walk to the Narrows, another good
shelling place on the island. Rocky was supposed to go with us and show
us a path that led from Girls Bay to the Narrows, some distance away.

At the last minute, he couldn't go , but Carol knew where the path
started, so we went on. It was a mistake, because after awhile we got
lost, walked through some jungle, saw a huge snake, and finally got out
in the water and waded the rest of the way over and through rocks of all
sizes. The weather turned bad while we were at the Narrows. The wind
blew and it rained, so we didn't stay very long. While there, we did
find a few Queen Conchs, Apple Murexes and two Helmets so encrusted with
lime that we didn't keep them. Of course, we had to walk back to the
hotel, but this time we started wading and didn't come out of the water
until we could see the path. This was an experience I don't care to re-
peat. Almost forgot, just before leaving the Narrows we saw a tremendous
stingray.

Our best collecting on this trip was in Girls Bay, where we found many
of the same shells we had found on previous trips. They included Amber
Pens, Angular Tritons, Egg Cockles, Speckled Tellins, Tiger Lucines,
True Tulips, Strawberry Cockles, Large Cross-Barred Venus Clams, Star
Fish and Sea Urchins.

As you can tell, I think this is a wonderful place to collect shells and
if I could just wish myself there, I'd go again in a minute.

Fig. 1 Modiolus modiolus squamosus Beauperthuy, 1967, was collected

by Helen Eberspacher in Girl's Bay, Harbour Island, off Eleuthera,
Bahamas. This species is supposed to occur in Texas according to
American Seashells, 1974, but it does not seem to appear in the material
at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. See Abbott for the discussion
of the differences of this species from our Modiolus americanus (Leach,
1815). Helen collected this latter species at Harbour Island also.

Photo by Constance E. Boone

PARDON MY BLOOPER The Yuill Log

I was pleased to read in the October issue of the Texas Conchologist

that Connie Boone made a mistake. (Let me try that again.) I was

pleased to note in the October issue that Connie Boone admitted making

a mistake. (Maybe the third time is the charm. After all, this has to
get by the Editor.) I was pleased by the "Correction Note" in the

October Texas Conchologist which stated that somebody made a mistake.

The author of the note is irrelevant, but the fact that anyone would

admit to a goof in our present-day, "we're No. 1" Society is phenomenal.
It is refreshing to see goofs recognized and corrected in the Conchologist
because this relationship -- trial, error and correction -- is the essence
of most scientific endeavor. This relationship is also the core of the
learning process for most of us -~- amateurs and professionals alike.

This, then, is a trilogy of goofs. I am not necessarily the protagonist
of each tale, but I was, at least, present during each "learning experience".

The first tale of woe involves a marine biologist who, early in his career
as an environmental consultant ‘oing marine benthic (bottom dwelling)
invertebrate idéntifications, was puzzled by a certain, clear, hard animal
part which had turned up in samples from as diverse origins as the Gulf
Coast of Mexico, the estuaries of New Jersey, and the coastal waters of
Iran. These translucent objects had a recognizable shape, were too hard
to plerce or break with a dissecting needle, and could only be seen under
a dissecting microscope. Our protagonist assumed that the object was an
animal skeletal fragment and that since the object was translucent, almost
transparent, that the object was probably made of silicon rather than car-
bonate. Thus, the "unknown" was possibly an aberrant sponge spicule, or
something similar. Finally in frustration, the biologist sent the hard
"unknown" off to a more experienced invertebrate taxononist for identi-
fication. Alas, the ID came back something like this, "Unknown object
was probably a piece of plastic; it dissolved when alcohol was added."

The red-faced biologist hence surmised that the objects were plastic
shavings introduced to the samples either from the plastic liners of the
collection vials, or from the plastic containers of the formalin preser-
vative added to all the samples.

The second tale involves several graduate biology students during a field
trip taken early in their marine careers. The collection trip, I believe
to Galveston Island, involved opportunistic sampling (beach combing) of
several different habitats including a tidal mud flat. On this mud flat,
our heroes encountered numerous vertically dug holes, and wanting to find
out what critters were responsible for the holes, they commenced digging
(the heroes, not the critters). But the critters had excavated a deep
hole, so that after several attempts with a garden spade, all our heroes
had to show was a few pieces of a worm-like organism. This unknown was
soft, delicate, whitish with parallel openings running the length of the
body. One of the graduates offered that it might be a sipunculid, a type
of marine worm. But no one knew the identity of the creature for sure.

Then one day several weeks later, one of the students returned from another
field trip with a whole, live specimen of the unknown creature -- a live

angel's wing with a beautiful, delicate siphon projecting out of the shell.
The unknown biologists had performed proboscisectomies on several indignant,
perhaps even furious bivalves.

The third tale, mercifully the last, has to do with some mysterious scales
which appeared in a taxonomist' plankton samples. The scales were ever-
present in a series of samples and the planktologist pondered what creature
could be swimming through the sea losing scales in such vast numbers as

to be present in all the samples from a certain field trip. Fish scales
were ruled out but worm scales were considered the leading possibility,
until an insect expert glanced in the microscope and asked why the marine
biologist was studying moth scales. Probably, some curious moth was flit-
ting around the lab, peeked into a container of formalin, gagged on the
smell and fell to his demise. The scales of his wings were dispersed
throughout the preservative and then introduced into each sample in the
field.

This triad of errors illustrates several important points to collecting

and identifying unknown objects on the seashore. In order to minimize
embarassing, albeit humorous taxonomic errors, I suggest the following

set of questions before you consult your identification keys or collector's
handbooks. First, is your object of study animal, vegetable or mineral?

To this stock question, we must nowadays add "Is it plastic?" Second, do
you have all of it, or only a portion of the unknown? A corollary to this
question is "Which part do you have?" I suspect all of us amateurs have
known the frustration of finding a beach worn bivalve with a faded pallial
sinus and a non-committal beak and have pondered if we had the left or the
right valve. Third, does the object you found really belong on the beach?
The seashore is the hall closet of the world; eventually, everything ends
up there. But not everything found on the beach lives there. Thus, expect
to find fresh-water and even terrestrial shells and organisms on the beach.

Lastly, ask lots of questions of people with more experience than yourself.
You may make a few bloopers, but you'll learn the answer common to most
collectors -- "What is it?"

KEKKKKKEKKKKKEKEKKEEEE

BO. o'5

We have a great need for short fillers for Texas Conchologist. TC is
published in multiples of 4 pages. Articles turned in seldom conform
exactly to our typed pages. We dislike blank spaces that you could fill
with collecting notes, book reviews, travel tips, etc. Deadline for
material for the next issue is March 1, 1983.

Constance E. Boone, Editor

CASUAL SHELLING IN IXTAPA, MEXICO By Jim Keeler

Our week in early October, 1982 in Ixtapa, Mexico was not a shelling trip.
We took golf clubs, "who-done-its" and "sci-fi" to read, and leisure clothes.
However, a sheller can't resist a little beachcombing and poking among rocks.

Ixtapa, a relatively new resort area adjacent to the old fishing town of
Zihuatanejo, is approximately 125-150 miles northwest of Acapulco. Ixtapa's
beautiful main beach is perhaps 2 miles long and bounded at each end by
rocky cliffs. In an adjoining bay is Ixtapa Island, a small recreational
island with several small beaches and rocky areas, used for local excur-
sions.

We found the Ixtapa area very clean and the beach almost "too clean". At
first we thought the beach was devoid of shell drift. However, there were
patches of wash-up material, mostly limpets and single valves of bivalves
(except for the Tivelas). The rocky areas at both ends of the beach and
the rocky area on Ixtapa Island provided most of the gastropods.

Our few hours of casual shelling provided over 60 species of mollusks not
including an additional ten that didn't quite fit the descriptions or
figures in Myra Keen's Sea Shells of Tropical West America, Second Edition.
Since the shells were not live collected and had some wear, identifications
were not as positive as would be the case for live collected material. For
the most part, however, identification was not difficult.

The following list is of those species identified:

Diodora inaequalis (Sowerby, 1835)
Fissurella gemmata Menke, 1847
Fissurella microtrema Sowerby, 1835
Fissurella decemcostata McLean,1970
Fissurella rubropicta Pilsbry, 1890
Fissurella nigrocincta Carpenter, 1856
Collisella pediculus (Philippi, 1846)
Notoacmea fascicularis (Menke, 1851)
Astraea unguis (Wood, 1828)

Nerita scabricosta Lamarck, 1822
Nerita funiculata Menke, 1851
Cerithium maculosum Kiener, 1841

Hipponix panamensis C. B. Adams, 1852
Hipponix pilosus (Deshayes, 1832)
Calyptraea spirata (Forbes, 1852)
Crepidula lessonii (Broderip, 1834)
Crucibulum spinosum (Sowerby, 1824)
Crucibulum scutellum (Wood, 1828)
Crucibulum lignarium (Broderip, 1834)
Cypraea arabicula (Lamarck, 1811)
Morum tuberculosum (Reeve, 1842)
Vitularia salebrosa (King and Broderip, 1842)
Thais speciosa (Valenciennes, 1832)
Thais triangularis (Blainville, 1832)

Columbella haemastoma Sowerby, 1832
Columbella fuscata Sowerby, 1832
Mitrella baccata (Gaskoin, 1852)
Mitrella santabarbarensis (Gould and Carpenter, 1857)
Agaronia testacea testacea (Lamarck, 1811)
Olivella tergina tergina (Duclos, 1835)

Mitra lens Wood, 1828

Conus nux Broderip, 1833

Bulla punctulata A. Adams in Sowerby, 1850
Siphonaria palmata Carpenter, 1857
Noetia reversa (Sowerby, 1833)
Glycymeris delessertii (Reeve, 1843)
Glycymeris multicostata (Sowerby, 1833)
Ostrea columbiensis Hanley, 1846
Ostrea palmula Carpenter, 1857

Cardita crassicostata (Sowerby, 1825)
Cardita grayi Dall, 1903

Cardita laticostata Sowerby, 1833

Ctena mexicana (Dall, 1901)
Transennella puella (Carpenter, 1864)
Chama mexicana Carpenter, 1857
Trigoniocardia obovalis (Sowerby, 1833)
Laevicardium elatum (Sowerby, 1833)
Tivela byronensis (Gray, 1838)

Tivela delessertii (Sowerby, 1864)
Pitar lupinaria (Lesson, 1830)
Megapitaria squalida (Sowerby, 1835)
Chione amathusa (Philippi, 1844)
Chione tumens (Verrill, 1870)

Chione subimbricata (Sowerby, 1835)
Chione pulicaria pulicaria (Broderip, 1835)
Chione purpurissata Dall, 1902

Chione subrugosa (Wood, 1828)

Prothaca metodon (Pilsbry and Lowe, 1932)
Donax contusus Reeve, 1854

Donax culter Hanley, 1845

Donax punctistriatus Hanley, 1843
Amphichaena kindermanni Philippi, 1847
Semele lenticularis (Sowerby, 1833)
Corbula ovulata Sowerby, 1833

SEARCH AND SEIZURE BY CONSTANCE BOONE

This is about the faces of lace---the Lace Murex.

One of the very first Murex I collected was the white, pink-tipped "Lace
Murex'' on the sand bars on the Gulf Beach at Sanibel Island, West Florida.
That was in August, 1956. I had a borrowed copy of American Seashells,
Abbott's First Edition, 1954. The identification seemed clear enough.

Since that time I have continued to add to my collection of this species
from other localities in the Western Atlantic, and I have continued to
try to understand the different opinions on the names used for different
populations.

This present review is for the many club members who like Murex and was
prompted by recent gifts of shells to the Houston Museum of Natural
Science by club members. It is also prompted by the recent visit to the
Houston Museum of Natural Science by the noted Murex authority Dr. Emily
H. Vokes of Tulane University. She was kind enough to look over the
material at HMNS and expressed her views on the "Lace Murex" once again
to help jell my understanding of the nomenclature.

In 1956 when I began collecting seashells in earnest I had no problem
naming my Sanibel "Lace Murex". What I collected looked like Abbott's
picture and what I had matched his discussion of the ecological variety
Named arenarius by Clench and Perez Farfante. I didn't know where
arenarius had been named because this was not stated in the actual dis-
cussion of Murex florifer in American Seashells. Had I been told it was
reviewed in Johnsonia I would not have known what that meant.

It is obvious that I had very little scientific background. I didn't
have the faintest idea how a shell got a name.

Some years later when the Houston Conchology Society (of which by then

I was a member) set up a library with a core gift of reference books,
including Johnsonia, a continuing monograph series edited by Dr. William J.
Clench at Harvard on Western Atlantic shells, I was able to read in

Volume I, #17, 1945, about Chicoreus florifer (Reeve, 1846) and the new

C. florifer arenarius Clench and Farfante, 1945. The glimmering of the
problems of solving some of the names earlier proposed by authors began

to sink in a little bit. There had been many names proposed for the "Lace
Murex". Reeve named Murex florifer in 1846 in Conchologia Iconica. It
seemed to be the earliest good name and thus chosen to be the right one

by modern workers. Clench and Farfante designated Honduras as the type
locality since Reeve's types were in the British Museum from Honduras.
Figure 188, plate 36, Volume 3 of Conch. Icon., was the illustration of
this species. The range in Johnsonia said the species was found in the
Northern West Indies, Southern Florida, Bahamas, Greater Antilles and the
Central American coast.

Clench and Fartante discussed C. florifer arenarius as a narrower, lighter
spired shell with pinkish upper whorls and stated it was limited to
Florida. The holotype was from Sanibel Island.

Time passed and several of us had long discussions about where the real
Chicoreus florifer existed and what it looked like. In those days I
wasn't traveling very much, and I also wasn't purchasing many shells.

I was an avid collector who had the notion I wanted to do my own collec-
ing or not acquire the shells. (This has long since been changed.)

The club library was a good one, but it did not have the classics such as
Reeve or Sowerby. It has only been in recent years that I am able to
lovingly peruse again and again the pages of such early books. The
Houston Museum of Natural Science has now probably the finest malaco-
logical library in the Southwest or even South.

‘Real Chicoreus florifer from the West Indies was supposed to be more
triangular, with darker brown fronds and with a larger and more elongated
tubercule between each of the three varicles. For a long while I was
sure the little brown Murex Mildred Tate and her husband collected in

the Florida Keys one year was the real florifer.

Then someone, probably in a shell magazine I took, mentioned that a
specialist named Dr. Emily Vokes said that the right name for the

Sanibel "Lace Murex" was really Chicoreus dilectus A. Adams, 1855.

Mildred Tate had been in contact with both Dr. Emily and Dr. Harold

Vokes at Tulane concerning a large Lima she had from dredgings and had
some of the early issues of Tulane Studies in Geology. Dr. Emily Vokes
had begun a series on Cenezoic Muricidae of the Western Atlantic.

Volume 3, #4, pages 181-204, 1965, discussed recent Chicoreus dilectus
Adams and designated a lectotype in the British Museum from the three
specimens Adams had. She stated that arenarius was preoccupied and de-
cided that it was not necessary to find a new name since A. Adams' des-
cription for dilectus was clear and that the illustration by Sowerby in
Thesaurus Conchyliorum (Vol. 4, pts. 33-34, 1879) was "unmistakable".
Adams had described dilectus with no locality in Proc. Zool. Soc. London,
pt. 23, p. 120. Dr. Vokes designated the type locality as Sanibel Island,
Florida, after Clench and Perez Farfante. The recent range was said to
be the Gulf of Mexico and northern Caribbean. Dr. Vokes satd that dilectus
could be distinguished from florifer by its narrower shell and generally
lighter color but did say that dilectus could be brown and have brown
apices as well as pink ones.

In her discussion of Chicoreus florifer, Dr. Vokes designated a lectotype
from Reeve's lot from Honduras in the British Museum and made Honduras
the type locality as had Clench and Farfante. The species was described
as being generally more imbricated, larger and heavier and with one

spine longer at the shoulder, with only one intervarical node, stronger
than in dilectus. Darker--wider--more triangular. She said Reeve's
figure was satisfactory.

Chicoreus florifer continued to elude me. One problem was lack of material
from the Caribbean.

Collectors have always liked Murex. We all eagerly awaited the publi-
cations that became available to us. In 1971 Dr. Vokes published the
catalogue of the Genus Murex Linne (Mollusca: Gastropoda); Muricinae,
Ocenebrinae in Volume 61, #268 of the Bulletin of American Paleontology.
It was a complete review of the names available, sources, opinions on

on legitimacy---but no pictures! Ruth Fair later published a popular
book on Murex, with illustrations. And in 1976 the long-awaited book

was published. George was very proud of the photos. I had seen a pre-
view of several pages in 1976 at the Columbus meeting of the American
Malacological Union. The photos were made by a friend, David K.
Mulliner. The Murex were shown about life-size.

The Radwin-D'Attilio book was very conservative and lumped many species.
In this the "Lace Murex" was "Chicoreus florifer. Other names, including
dilectus and arenarius were placed in synonymy. The photos showed both
the larger triangular form from the Caribbean and the narrower smaller
shell from Sanibel as C. florifer. The range was listed as Cape Hatteras,
North Carolina, and the northern Gulf of Mexico to northern Cuba and the
northwestern Bahama Islands.

Abbott's Second Edition, American Seashells, was published in 1974 and
had also made changes in "Lace". Abbott said arenarius was a synonym
and listed the Sanibel variety as a subspecies, using Adams' name---
thusly, Murex florifer dilectus A. Adams, 1855. He used Linne's Murex
throughout except for Subgenus headings. Therefore you see that his
name does not have A. Adams, 1855 in parenthesis to designate a change
in Genus.

So we have some opinions. There is not agreement among professionals,
but this isn't unusual. You can decide what you think is best, or you
can catalog your shells mentioning all the most important opinions. I
like to know the opinions in my material.

I would not have thought much more about this until two club members
gave shells to the growing collection at the Houston Museum of Natural
Science.

From the Miron collection we received a number of very good lots of "Lace
Murex" from off San Augustine and Cape Canaveral, Florida, dredged by

Ted Yocius. Many club members got some of these from the dredge material
they purchased also from Yocius. Most of the "Lace Murex" were white
with pink spires and very frilly. Sam and Fannie Miron worked out every-
thing and had many young specimens as well as adults. In cataloging
their gift at HMNS I noticed that some of the specimens seemed more tri-
angular. However, I was conservative and they were cataloged as C.
florifer, following Radwin and D'Attilio.

From Helen Eberspacher HMNS received some shells from Harbour Island,
Bahamas, off Eleuthera. I had been there in 1977 and had collected

several larger, darker and more triangular Murex I had dubbed in my
collection as Chicoreus florifer. I considered this collection my first
encounter with the real C. florifer. Helen gave HMNS one specimen which
she had named Chicoreus brevifrons (Lamarck, 1822). It was, however,
true C. florifer. Chicoreus brevifrons is even larger, generally, and
has spiral bands of dark brown between the spiral ridges and the spiral
ridges are white. It can also be almost all cream. It has more open
spines and 2% nuclear whorls in comparison to 1's nuclear whorls for
florifer. C. brevifrons has an unguiculate operculum (= clawlike) and
C. florifer has a round operculum that is concentric with a subcentral
nucleus.

In late October, 1982, Dr. Vokes visited the Houston Museum of Natural
Science to see the library available and also looked over the Murex
collection. We looked especially at the material in the Northwest Gulf
Mollusk Population Survey and you will hear more about this later. She
did look at the San Augustine "Lace Murex" and I asked her what she
thought about the specimens that were more triangular, among the dilectus
appearing specimens. She had not seen the Yocius material but remarked
that where this material came from was close to the Bahamas where true

C. florifer did occur. Later she wrote us concerning these specimens

and said she had examined her material of young "Lace Murex". She sta-
ted that "young dilectus has big widespread flanges (Ed. note---flange
refers to the projecting rim, edge or extended rib) with the shoulder

not very much longer than the other. After about one inch high it then turns
the flanges in a bit but not completely, the shoulder spine becomes

very apically directed, and the space between the suture and the shoul-
der spine is almost non-existent."

"In the young florifer, however, from the earliest stages, the shoulder
spine is very long and straight out, but the others are very small and
turned under--in other words it looks almost like an adult. The overall
shape is very markedly triangular from the earliest stages, with a long
shoulder spine sticking almost straight out."

Dr. Vokes judged that the HMNS lots from off San Augustine were all
good dilectus.

The brown specimens from the Tate collection from the Keys are dilectus
also. I collected some in the Keys myself, all darker brown but narrow
and they are dilectus also. I have some collected from the Florida
West Coast Panhandle area and they are brown dilectus. I have some
from shrimpers from the Veracruz area, and they are dilectus, mostly
gray white.

So far I have only a few true C. florifer from the Caribbean. I do not
know how common it is. I have a large collection of shells acquired
from two collectors who lived many years in Aruba. The Chicoreus all
seem to be brevifrons. From a trader from Curacao I do have one little
puzzle, a Chicoreus that is not a young brevifrons because the spiral
ridges are brown not white. I do not yet know what it is although

Dr. Vokes thought it might be the long-lost pudoricolor (Reeve, 1845)
and Fair pictured it thusly. Dr. Tucker Abbott borrowed it when he
described Chicoreus cosmani in Nautilus, October, 1979, and he pictured

it questioning whether it might be a variety of his new Chicoreus. He
does not think it is Reeve's pudoricolor.

The C. dilectus species is supposed to be what we have in the Gulf of
Mexico and it does range around Florida and up to North Carolina appar-
ently. True C. florifer, according to Dr. Vokes, does not occur in the
Gulf of Mexico. In the Northwest Gulf of Mexico Mollusk Population
Survey there are no specimens of either dilectus or florifer, despite
the dredge material from such areas as the coral reefs (Flower Gardens)
where Caribbean material is common. TI do not know the "Lace Murex"
from the Texas coastline. Shrimpers may bring some in from Mexican
waters or southern Gulf of Mexico but I do not know it otherwise.

Fig. 1 Chicoreus florifer (Reeve, 1846) collected by Helen Eberspacher.
at Girl's Bay, Harbour Island, off Eleuthera, Bahamas, at low tide in
grasses and shallow water. Specimen donated to Houston Museum of Natural
Science.

Fig. 2 Chicoreus dilectus (A. Adams, 1855) collected by dredging NE
of Cape Canaveral, Florida, from 270 ft. by Ted Yocius, December, 1973.
Miron Collection, now cataloged at HMNS.

Fig. 3 Chicoreus dilectus (A. Adams, 1855) collected by Margaret Teskey
in the Florida Keys, by snorkeling, grasses and rocks, 1977.

Photos by Constance E. Boone

BOOK REVIEW by Harold W. Harry

Davis, Jack BR. (Editor)

1982 Proceedings of the Symposium of Recent Benthological Investigations in
Texas and Adjacent States
Aquatic Science Section, Texas Academy of Science
278 pages, (11204 Brunt Drive, Austin, Texas 78758, price, $6.00)

The 21 papers in this volume are important because they are of permanent
interest, meaning they will be as useful to scholars many decades hence
as during the next few years. The book is well edited and the price is
most reasonable. This work is particularly valuable to malacologists be-
cause a third of the 15 papers on the freshwater environment and half of
the six on the marine environment deal with mollusks.

The papers on freshwater mollusks, taken together, constitute a veritable
summary, with revisions and extensions, of knowledge of the freshwater
snails and clams of Texas. The absence of a paper on the fingernail clams
(Sphaeridae) does not detract from that conclusion, for that group has been
well treated by recent papers by H. B. Herrington (1962, Misc. Pub. Museum
of Zool., Univ. of Michigan No. 118) and W. H. Heard (1965, Amer. Midland
Naturalist 74:309-317).

Joseph Britton's "Biogeography and Ecology of the Asiatic Clam, Corbicula,
in Texas" discusses the history of the invasion of this clam and has a map
indicating the date of first record at each locality within the state.
Raymond Neck has two papers on pearly freshwater mussels, one discussing
their ecological zoogeography in Texas, the other being a review of the
interactions between humans and the unionids here. These may be the most
fundamental papers on Texas unionids since Strecker's work, half a century
ago. Artie Metcalf's paper, "Fossil Unionacean Bivalves from Three
Tributaries of the Rio Grande", reports the fossil occurrence of 10 unionids,
distributed over 12 fossil sites and 6 localities where the species are now
living, in Mexico, New Mexico and Texas. Richard Fullington's paper, "The
Recent and Fossil Freshwater Gastropod Fauna of Texas", is the result of ex-
tensive field work in the state and study of several collections in major
museums.

Of the three papers on marine mollusks, 'Death Assemblage as a Key to the
Past" by Eric Powell, Robert Stanton, Hays Cummins and George Staff, deals
explicitly with the controversial problem of how to evaluate dead shells

in studies of benthic marine mollusks and presents several new ideas and
techniques. Despite its technical approach and jargon, the difficulties

of reading it are well worth the effort.

"The Diversity and Distribution of Living Mollusks in the Lower Laguna Madre
of Texas" by Howard Wilhite, Terry Allison and Jack Rickner, is a welcome
addition to knowledge of mollusks of this very unusual environment, where
logistic problems greatly impede field work.

Thomas Littleton's paper, "A Comparison of the Distribution of Two Species
of Periploma (Bivalvia, Periplomatidae) in Matagorda Bay, Texas" is the kind
of study of which we need many more, because it defines more precisely the
environments of species.

MONOGRAPH BY H. ODE

DISTRIBUTION AND RECORDS OF THE MARINE MOLLUSCA IN
THE NORTHWEST GULF OF MEXICO
(A Continuing Monograph)

PART II: GASTROPODA
Family NATICIDAE Gray, 1846 (Continued)

38. Natica floridana (Rehder, 1943)

The only evidence for this species in the offshore Texas waters
is furnished by a single operculum obtained on Stetson Bank.
Because fossil material is obtained at this spot, it is probably
that the species no longer lives on the Texas coast, because in
our extensive material no other evidence for this species was ever
found.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 1 lot (operculum from + 30 fms. at
Stetson Bank.)

Finally it must be remarked that there is in the Survey Collection a number
of lots which I cannot place even generically. They mostly come from deeper
water and are all juveniles. Unless better material becomes available it
will be impossible to place most of this material even generically.

Family CREPIDULIDAE Fleming, 1822

In this remarkable family of gastropods the usually spirally coiled shell
is hardly recognizable. The early whorls form but a minute part of the
shell, which is almost exclusively formed by the enormously expanded last
whorl. The animal inside this shell is thus, unless special measures are
taken not well anchored. In the genus Crepidula a large deck is formed,

in Calyptraea there is an internal spiral diaphragm, which is an extension
similar to the deck in Crepidula. In Crucibulum this structure has evolved
to a complete cup and finally in Cheilea the cup is incomplete.

Genus Calyptraea Lamarck, 1799
39. Calyptraea centralis Conrad, 1841

One of the smallest, but easily recognized species in this family.
It is quite common on shelly bottoms between 8 and 20 fms. along
the Texas coast. It also occurs in the Mudlump fauna. From Port
Aransas southward it is on rare occasions taken in beachdrift.
Not taken on the offshore coral and algal reefs but known from the
shale domes such as Stetson Bank.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 52 lots of which 9 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 0-55 fms.; alive 10-55 fms.

Geographical range: Texas to North Carolina; West Indies; Brazil.

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 8 mm.

Genus Crucibulum Schumacher, 1817
40. Crucibulum auricula (Gmelin, 1791)

This quite common species is often dredged alive along the
Texas coast in waters between 8-25 fms. depth in many types >

of environments. Specimens from deeper water are often flatter
and less elevated. C. striatum is apparently not found along

the Texas coast. Juvenile specimens of auricula sometimes have
the internal cup attached over a considerable distance along the
rim of the cup so that these specimens could be mistaken for C.
striatum. A very few specimens are known from the beaches.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 48 lots of which 28 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 11-55 fms.; alive 11-43 fms.

Geographical range: Off South Carolina to Texas; West Indies to
Brazil (Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection:* 25 mn.

Genus Crepidula Lamarck, 1799

In our area live 4 species none of which is particularly rare. The genus
was recently discussed by Hoagland 1977 in Malacologia, Vol. 16, (2),

pp. 353-420. All species are said to be protandrous, i.e. they start out
as males and later become female. This change of sex has been well studied
inthe Calyptraeidae. See for further information Chapter 4 by Fretter and
Graham in: Physiology of Mollusca, ed. by Wilbur and Yonge, Vol. 1, 1964.

Genus Crepidula Lamarck, 1799
41. Crepidula fornicata (Linne, 1758)

This species now lives in many parts of the world because it

got transported with oyster brood for human consumption. The
species originated in the Western Atlantic. The rate of progress
of the species in Western Europe has been well documented (see

v. Benthem Jutting in Fauna van Nederland). It also now lives on
the West Coast of the USA.

Along the Texas coast the species is widespread and is often
found on the beach both dead in drift or alive attached to
other shells. It is remarkable that in many places in Western
Europe the animal lives in stacks of sometimes 7-10 animals
on oysters (f.i. Scheldt Estuary) but that along the Texas coast
the animal is seldom if ever found on oysters. Instead, it lives
attached to large specimens of Polinices, Busycons, etc. It lives
on shelly bottoms and one lot comes from the algal reef at 18 fms.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 61 lots of which 43 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 0-30 fms.; alive 0-27 fms.

Geographical range: Canada to Florida, Texas, introduced to west
coast (Abbott, 1974)

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 44 mm.

42.

43.

44,

Crepidula convexa (Say, 1822)

This smaller species is fairly common in Texas bays. It

resembles a small fornicata but differs in several respects.

At the place where the deck reaches the shell there is a clear
muscular impression which is missing in fornicata. In the Texas
bays often very slender and high forms are found presumably shaped
that way because they were attached to eelgrass. Crepidula glauca

Say is the same. Almost all our material comes from Matagorda
and Aransas Bays and the Laguna Madre, but a few specimens were
taken in the Mudlumps in the Mississippi Delta, Clay Pile Dome
off Louisiana and one lot was dredged at 25 fms. These lots are
probably Pleistocene in age.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 16 lots of which 5 contain live col-
lected material.

Depth range: 0-25 fms.; alive 1 fm.

Geographical range: Massachusettes to Texas, West Indies, Bermuda,
California (Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 11 mn.

Crepidula aculeata (Gmelin, 1791)

This well known species which lives on both coasts of the USA
is the least common Crepidula in Texas. It occurs on shelly
bottoms and has been taken once on the beach of Freeport.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 11 lots of which 2 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 0-40 fms.; alive 8-25 fms.

Geographical range: North Carolina to Texas and to Brazil, Bermuda,
and Central California to Chile (Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 20 mn.

Crepidula plana Say, 1822

This quite common species is often found inside empty Polinices
shells. Such specimens have as it were a negative curvature. In
Texas sometimes specimers can be found that have reddish stripes
and banding on them.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 97 lots of which 58 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 0-50 fms.; alive 0-40 fms.

Geographical range: Canada to Texas and to Brazil; Bermuda (Abbott,
1974).

Maximum size in HMNS Survey Collection: 36 mn.

Genus Cheilea Modeer, 1793

45.

Cheilea equestris (Linne, 1758)

This fairly thin shelled species is not rare along the Texas
coast. Although we have a considerable number of lots, we have
not seen live material but some material is rather fresh. Mostly
on shelly bottoms, and rare on the coral reefs. In our collection

there is beautiful juvenile material which shows a smooth and some-
what inflated nuclear shell. These show that the cup originates
as a continuation of the whorls, whereas the final shell is a large
skirt-like structure.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 25 lots, no live material but some
fresh looking shells.

Depth range: 10-55 fms., optimal 15-30 fms.

Geographical range: Both sides of Florida, the West Indies to Brazil.
Gulf of California to Chile. (Abbott, 1974)

Maximum size: 32 mm.

EXTERNAL INTERIOR

Fig. 1 Cheilea equestris (Linne, 1758) juvenile showing protoconch which
is smooth and projecting. It helps form the adult cup. These drawings
by Ode are from a shell from 24 fms. dredged 55 mi. SE of Freeport,
Texas by the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries December 7, 1966.

Fig. 2 Cheilea equestris (Linne, 1758) is apparently a species that
is found in several oceans. The specimen above was collected by

Constance Boone in April, 1982, in the Indian Ocean off Onslow, West
Australia. It occurs in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans off our con-

tinent, according to Abbott, and Kay in Hawaiian Marine Shells says it
is circumtropical.

Photo by Constance E. Boone

Family CAPULIDAE Fleming, 1822

Only a single species in the Western Gulf of Mexico. Abbott (1974) mentions
that the Gulf of Mexico material is quite small compared to material from
elsewhere in the Western Atlantic.

Genus Capulus Montfort, 1810

46. Capulus ungaricus (Linne, 1767)

This little shell has been taken but once off the Texas coast

but a few times off Louisiana. The collection contains several
quite juvenile specimens. These show a nuclear shell which is
quite smooth. Only in the later growth stages the shell acquires

the spiral striations. The only Texas material comes from 110 fms.,

70 miles south of Freeport.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 4 lots, no live material.

Depth range: 55-110 fms.

Geographical range: Greenland to off Florida, Bermuda. Arctic seas
to Mediterranean (Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size: 9 mm.

(to be continued)

RERKKKEKEREREREERE

DON'T BRING THESE HOME ALIVE

The Giant African Snail is common now throughout the Pacific and easily
collected. In Guam we couldn't walk at night without stepping on them.
However, please resist all temptation to bring them home alive. They are
pests and we don't want them here.Achatina species may seem like exotic
mollusks to be kept in captivity like the Florida tree snail, but it is
against the law to bring them into the U.S. and customs inspectors will
take them from you if you have them alive.

A recent story in the newspaper retold the story of the boy who returned
from Hawaii in the 1960s with two live snails he released in his Miami,
Florida yard. Inspectors had missed the snails in customs. These snails
(which can grow to a foot in length and can weigh up to two pounds) multi-
plied, destroyed gardens and shrubs and ate paint off houses. Though

the snails were confined to a 16-block area, it took years and cost $1 million

to kill them.

In Vol. 62 (1), July, 1948, G.D. Hanna wrote that indiscriminate scattering
of this mollusk in the Pacific islands prior to or during the war (IT)

by Japanese caused many beautiful islands to become barren wastes. The
animals are extremely prolific, he said, and remarked that two snails left
at Steinhart Aquarium on loan laid 246 eggs at one period.

C.2 2.

OCCURRENCE OF A DECLINING AQUATIC GASTROPOD, Elimia comalensis,
IN A RESERVOIR HABITAT (PLEUROCERIDAE)

Raymond W. Neck

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
4200 Smith School Road
Austin, Texas 78744

Elimia (Elimia) comalensis (Pilsbry, 1890) is an aquatic gastropod
restricted to limestone substrates in moderately fast flowing waters
(generally associated with springs) in the Texas Hill Country (see
Fullington 1978:71 et seq.). As the easternmost representative of
the western American subgenus Elimia, this species is of particular
zoogeographic significance. This species is also of special concern
due to drastically declining population levels (Neck, in press).
Many of the relatively few known localities are also the site of
thriving populations of the introduced thiarid species Melanoides
tuberculata (Muller, 1774) and Melania granifera (Lamarck, 1822);
see discussions by Fullington (1978) and Murray (1966, 1976) for de-
tails.

On 11 March 1982, I collected five living individuals of E. comalensis
from the bottom (then subaerial) of Town Lake (Colorado River) in
Austin, Travis County, Texas. Recovered specimens were of a size
comparable to other modern population samples. Length ranged from
12.4 to 16.7 mm with an average length of 14.9 mm. All specimens were
of the smooth form.

The collection site consisted of a rock and silt substrate about 3 meters
from the edge of the lake. A substantial growth of water milfoil
(Myriophyllum sp.) had occurred at the collection site. Of possible
significance was the absence of either thiarid species. Also of prob-
able importance were the adjacent intake pipes to provide cooling water
for a nearby electrical generation plant. Water currents generated by
removal of this water may elevate oxygen levels and reduce levels of
metabalites and silt.

Normal water depth was approximately 70 cm; water level had been dropped
on 8 March to a level of 127.6 meters msl (approximately 1 m below nor-
mal level). The normal level of Town Lake is regulated very tightly
under normal conditions. The spring 1982 lowering allowed bridge con-
struction activities at a site below the collection locality. This
lowered lake level was the lowest allowed since 1973; impoundment of
Town Lake began in September 1960 following construction of Longhorn Dam.

The significance of this record is the occurrence of a scarce lotic
water species in a shallow reservoir habitat. E. comalensis may be able

to establish populations in microhabitats previously thought to be un-
suitable.

Additionally, this record constitutes a new county record for E.
comalensis. Previous compilations of freshwater gastropod records of
Texas (Singley 1893; Strecker 1935; Fullington 1978) have reported no
records for Travis County. However, this record should not be con-
sidered to be an expansion of the macro-geographic range of this species.
Rather, this reservoir population is derived from a population which has
existed in Barton Creek close to the herein reported locality (see

fig. 1). Populations at Barton Springs have been long impacted by
development of a creekbed swimming pool, but populations have been

able to survive in this area.

Acknowledgement. I thank T. B. Samsel III for drafting Figure I.
Literature Cited

Fullington, R. W. 1978. The Recent and fossil freshwater gastropod
fauna of Texas. Ph. D. dissertation, North Texas State University,
Denton, 279 pp.

Murray, H. D. 1965. Ecology of Melanoides tuberculata (Muller) and
Tarebia granifera (Lamarck)in South Texas. Ann. Rpt. Amer. Malacol.
Union 1965:25-26.

Murray, H. D. 1976. Melanoides tuberculata (Muller), Las Moras Creek,
Bracketville, Texas. Bull. Amer. Malacol. Union 1975:43.

Neck, R. W. In press. Restricted and declining non-marine molluscs
of Texas.

Singley, J. A. 1893. Texas Mollusca. Ann. Rpt. Geol. Survey Texas
43:299-343.

Strecker, J. K. 1935. Land and fresh-water snails of Texas. Trans.
Texas Acad. Sci. 17:4-44.

BARTON SPRING

* COLLECTION SITE _————— |

Figure 1. Map of portion of Town Lake, Austin, Travis Co., Texas,
showing location of Elimia comalensis.

AMERICAN MALACOLOGICAL UNION MEETING 1983

The 49th annual meeting of the American Malacological Union will be held
August 7-13, 1983 on the campus of the University of Washington, Seattle,
Washington.

Dr. Alan Kohn, President, has announced that a varied program planned

to interest both professional and amateur members is planned, including
marine, terrestrial and fossil field trips mid-week, an auction of shells
and malacobilia, a banquet cruise through the Lake Washington ship canal
locks to an island in Puget Sound for a Northwest Indian style salmon
barbecue. Plans include an optional weekend field trip to the Friday
Harbor Laboratories after the meeting.

Featured symposia will include one on contributions to medicine and
physiology through the study of mollusks and another on mollusks of the
past. The Western Society of Malacologists will join AMU at this meeting
planning a symposium on avian molluscivores. There will be workshops on
malacological publications, both professional and non-professional.

There will be sessions on Cephalopods and Pacific Northwest marine
mollusks.

HCS members are welcome to attend the AMU meeting. Information on reg-
istration and housing reservations (on campus this year) will be avail-
able at the April meeting.

REKRKKREREEKRKERE

WE ANNOUNCE

A new and willing aide in producing Texas Conchologist!

Emily Oakes is our club member who has typed this issue of TC

and who has volunteered to continue this chore. We are grateful

for her help. Perhaps members are not aware that we maintain editorial
standards requiring all articles to be retyped by our typist using
certain type so our journal looks more professional. Emily purchased
the proper type ball and has arranged to use her church's typewriter.
Thank her next time you see her.

The Editor

HOUSTON CONCHOLOGY SOCIETY, INC.

Officers 1982-1983

President

Program Vice-President
Field Trip Vice-President
| Treasurer

Recording Secretary

Corresponding Secretary

Directors

Mary Ann Curtis
Ruth Finer

Charles Glover

Editor, Texas Conchologist

Immediate Past President

Lucy Clampit
Curtis Fleming
Al Mohle

Jim Sartor
Mimi Miller

Betty Genusa

Lloyd Meister
Fannie Miron

Bob Sappington

Constance E. Boone

David B. Green

Honorary Life Members

Prot. b&b. Pulley

Dr. Helmer Odé

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CONCHOLOGIST

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VOLUME XIX NO. 3

’

APRIL, 1983

The TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST is the official publication of the Houston Conchol-
ogy Society, Inc., and is published quarterly at Houston, Texas. It is
distributed as part of the dues to all menbers.

The Society holds reqular meetings the fourth Wednesdays of the follow
ing months: August, September, October, January, February, March, April,
and May. The meeting is held the third Wednesday in November. Meetings
are held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Caroline Street in
Hermann Park, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST is published October, January, April and July.

It is mailed postpaid to regular members in U.S. postal zones. Overseas
members will be charged additional postage. Only one copy will be mailed
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EDITOR CIRCULATION

Constance E. Boone Mr. Grytch Williams
668-8252 664-2809

3706 Rice Boulevard 6644 Belmont
Houston, Texas 77005 Houston, Texas 77005

EDITORIAL STAFF

Helmer Ode" Emily R. Oakes

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Austin, Texas 78731 3207 Flamborough
512-452-7794 Pasadena, Texas 77503

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

SIMNIA HOLOTYPE MEASUREMENT CORRECTION By Constance Boone

The most common Simnia found on Texas beaches is the one that washes
up with rolls of the soft coral gorgonian Leptogorgia setacea, com-
monly called sea whip. This Simnia was named Simnialena marferula
by Crawford N. Cate in 1973 in "A Systematic Revision of the Recent
Cypraeid Family Ovulidae", supplement of The Veliger, Vol. 1 15, 7°. =
January 31, 1973, page 75. Measurements of the holotype were given
as L. 8.4; W. 5.6; H. 3.9 mm. The paper states that the holotype
was No. 1293 at the Los Angeles County Museum.

In January, 1983, measurements of the holotype at LACM revealed the
holotype measures L. 15.4; W. 5.9; H. 4.2 mm. Dr. James H. McLean,
Malacology Section of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County, did the measurement with caliper under a microscope.

The measurement was judged necessary because for some time workers
in Texas have been unable to understand the small length size for
our common Simnia. Dr. T. E. Pulley, director emeritus and manager
of collections of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, responded
to this author's question concerning the published photo on the
holotype by figuring dimensions mathematically from the photo and
pronouncing that an error had been made in the published measurement.

The | eles measurements of the holotype have been repeated in
Andrews' Shells and Shores of Texas, 1977, page 123, using an enlarge-
ment of the same photo used in her earlier book Sea Shells of the
Texas Coast, 1971, page 98, where the shell was called Neosimnia
uniplicata. Cate had informed Andrews that this photo was his new
Simnialena marferula and Andrews gave the photo that name in her 1977
edition. In 1971 Andrews gave measurements of the shell as 12 to

18 mm. in length. In 1977 she used the name given by Cate and also

his measurement of 8.4 mm. for length.

The recent Supplement 2 of Standard Catalog of Shells, October, 1982,
repeats the Cate measurements.

It is likely that the stated length of 8.4 mm., as published in the
original description, was a typographical error for 18.4 mm., since
the measurements by Cate were not very accurate for the other dimen-
sions either.

The Los Angeles County Museum does not have paratypes of Cate's
Simnialena marferula. We do not know if any exist in other museums.
The Cate collection has been sold, and some of it has been placed

in the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The late
Bill Old had promised to check whether specimens of this Simnia were
in the material AMNH had received.

The holotype we viewed at LACM is definitely like our commonly
beached Simnia. It is yellow and has irregularly incised, trans-
verse lines covering the entire dorsal area, one of the distinctions
made by Cate in separating this from S. uniplicata.

49.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol, XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

TRACHYPOLLIA SCLERA WOODRING, 1928, IN THE RECENT

FAUNA OF THE GULF OF MEXICO

Emily H, Vokes
Department of Geology, Tulane University
New Orleans, Louisiana 70118

The genus Trachypollia was named by Woodring (1928, p. 268) for a
species of small gastropods from the basal Pleistocene of Bowden,
Jamaica, He compared the species to members of Engina and Pollia
and obviously considered it to be a Buccinid. At the time he noted
that there were "no similar fossil or living species" in the West
Indian region and named as type a new species T, sclera,

The name has been completely ignored by all workers except Wenz (1941,
p. 1197, fig. 3408), who just repeated Woodring's illustration and
placement. It was not until 1972 that Radwin and D'Attilio recognized
it for what it was--a member of the Ocenebrinae, with three living
species: '"Buccinum" lugubre C. B, Adams, 1852; "Drupa"” didyma
Schwengel, 1943; and "Purpura" nodulosa C. B. Adams, 1845, In their
work they figured the radulae and protoconchs of these three species,
one of which is reproduced here,

The genus is characterized by being rather small, nonvaricate, with
small denticles on both the inner and outer apertural lips. All

species have a protoconch of several papillose whorls and an ocenebrine
operculum. The known species were originally placed into a variety of
genera and it was obvious that the group needed a new genus; recognition
of Trachypollia as that taxon is a major coup for Radwin and D'Attilio.

Although the species of this group have been referred to the genus Morula
Schumacher, 1817 (type species: Morula papillosa Schumacher = Drupa uva
Roding, 1798), only T, nodulosa bears any resemblance to the typical
Morula uva, and this is due more to convergence than to especially close
relationship, The overall "black-berry" shape is similar, but the inner
lip in Morula is the patulous thaid type and the inner lip of Trachynollia
is the erect muricoid type. In Morula there is a strong median columellar
fold not seen in Trachypollia. In addition, the radulae are dissimilar

in that the rachidian tooth in Morula is flat and that of Trachypollia is
curved in the typical ocenebrine manner,

It is obvious that the Muricidae grade into the Thaididae and it is in
the vicinity of Morula that the distinctions become the most blurred,
but I still feel that there is enough morphological difference to sepa-
rate the two families.

In the collection of the Houston Museum of Natural Science, as part of
the Northwest Gulf Population Survey, there are numerous lots of small
muricid species tentatively identified by Helmer Odd as Risomurex roseus,
Some time back he sent a sample to me for identification and at that time

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

the best I could say was that it was not roseus, but I had no idea
what it could be,

A recent visit to the museum reawakened my curiosity over the group

and I decided to "try harder". By chance, in the interval since I

had looked at Ode's "roseus" we had collected a large lot of material
at Moin Bay, Costa Rica, and in this I had identified a species as
Trachypollia sclera--alive and well in Costa Rica. To my surprise,
when I began searching for a name for the Gulf shell I compared it with
the Costa Rican specimens and, amazingly, it was the same,

Thus, Trachypollia sclera is not only alive, but evidently thriving in
the Gulf of Mexico, if the Houston collection is any indication, There
are numerous lots, mostly from depths of 10 to 25 fms, Radwin and
D'Attilio (1976, p. 134) cite Trachypollia didyma as occurring on the
Texas offshore reefs, I have not seen any specimens of T. didyma from
Texas and they may well have mistaken T, sclera for T, didyma, which is
more inflated, more heavily beaded shell.

The presence of the denticulated inner lip causes the species of
Trachypollia to have a superficial resemblance to the members of Risomurex
which I consider a subgenus of Muricopsis, but the two groups have very .
different protoconchs. All members of Risomurex have a smooth, one

and one-half whorl, keeled protoconch, in contrast to the four or five
markedly papillose whorls in Trachypollia,

LITERATURE CITED

Radwin, G. E,, and Anthony D'Attilio, 1972, The systematics of some
New World muricid species (Mollusca: Gastropoda), with descrip-
tions of two new genera and two new species: Biol. Soc. Washington,
Proc., Vv. 35, ne, 28, p. 323-352, figs, 1-26.

Radwin, G. E. and Anthony D'Attilio, 1976, Murex Shells of the World;

an illustrated guide to the Muricidae, Stanford University Press,
Stanford, California, 284p,, 32 pls., 192 text figs,

Wenz, Wilhelm, 1941, Handbuch der Paldozoologie, v. 6, Part 1-
Gastropoda, lief, 5, p. 959-1200, figs, 2788-3416.

Woodring, W. P., 1928, Miocene mollusks from Bowden, Jamaica; part 2,

Gastropods and discussion of results: Carnegie Inst. Washington,
Publ. 385, 564 p., 40 pls,

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

PLATE EXPLANATION

Figure

1. Trachypollia sclera Woodring (X 3)
44 m, 92 km southeast of Freeport, Texas; Houston Museum
Northwest Gulf Population Survey
Height 16. 3, diameter 8.0 mn.

2. Trachypollia didyma (Schwengel) (X 3)
50 m, off Palm Beach, Florida,
Height 13,5 mm, diameter 7,2 mm,

3,4. Trachypollia lugubris (C. B. Adams)

3. Radula (Radwin and D'Attilio, 1972, fig. 5)
4, Protoconch (Radwin and D'Attilio, 1972. fig. 4)

5. Trachypollia nodulosa (C, B. Adams) (X 2)
Bone Key, Florida.

Height 19.9 mm, diameter 10.4 mn.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

MONOGRAPH By H. ODE

DISTRIBUTION AND RECORDS OF THE MARINE MOLLUSCA IN
THE NORTHWEST CULF OF MEXICO

(A Continuing Monograph)
PART II: GASTROPODA
Family BUCCINIDAE Rafinesque, 1815

Several species of this worldwide family live in the Western Gulf of
Mexico in various types of habitat. The assignment of the various
genera to a number of subfamilies is not quite clear. In Texas the
genera Bartschia, Bailya, Engina, Colubraria, Pisania, Cantharus and
Antillophos occur. Most of these genera are restricted to warmer
waters,

Genus Cantharus Roding, 1798

In the Western Gulf of Mexico live two species, each in a different
environment. Two other species formerly placed with Cantharus we list
now, in accordance with the usage of Abbott, 1974, in Pisania subgenus
Pollia. These four species form the bulk ar alt hucetataae in the
Western Gulf,

47, Cantharus multangulus (Philippi, 1848)

In our collection are 3 lots: one consists of a single live
collected specimen from the offshore coral reefs. The color
of its operculum is a golden brown, much lighter than that of
P. tincta or C, cancellarius. The other two lots consist of
old, fragmented material.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 3 lots, one containing live col-
lected material.

Depth range: 25-28 fms. (live); 33-55 fms, (dead).

Geographical range: North Carolina to Yucatan, Cuba and Bahamas
(Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size: 23 mm.

48. Cantharus cancellarius (Conrad, 1846)

This is by far the most common buccinid of the Texas Coast,
where it lives in the shallow depth zone between the beach
and 55 fms. (dead), to 25 fms. (live), on sand and mud
bottoms, Not a single specimen has been found on the off-
shore coral reefs, where it is replaced by Pisania auritula.
On rocky and shelly bottoms such as the fossil beach ridges
offshore Freeport or on some of the shale domes offshore

Texas and Louisiana (f. i. Stetson Bank) one finds populations

of Pisania tincta. Cantharus cancellarius is often found on
on the beach, where it is an important source of shelter for

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April,, 1983

Fig. 1 Cantharus multangulus (Philippi, 1848) taken by divers
from algal clumps, called the "24 fm. lump," 113 miles SE of
Galveston, Texas, October 7, 1967.

Fig. 2 Cantharus cancellarius (Conrad, 1846) trawled at 7% fms., 7
miles SSE of Port O'Connor, Texas, by the Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries, trip of August 10-25, 1965.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

small hermit crabs.

The nuclear whorls of C. cancellarius are quite regular,
There are about 2-3 whorls, regularly increasing in size.
They are glassy and smooth; the mature shell starts suddenly.
In mature specimens the costae quite clearly diminish in
strength on the last whorl and the shell assumes a spirally
obvious sculpture. The coloring of this species is uniform,
most a dirty brown or reddish dark brown with periostracum or
whitish without periostracum.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 55 lots of which 29 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: O (beach) to 25 fms. (live); 0 (beach) to 55 fms.
(dead).

Geological range: West Coast of Florida to Texas and Yucatan
(Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size: 36 mm,

49, Pisania tincta (Conrad, 1846)

‘Although now placed in Pisania this species is closely related
to Cantharus cancellarius. I do agree, however, with its place-
ment in Pisania because its nucleus is definitely of a different
shape than that of cancellarius, It is more bulbous and shorter
but is very close to that of its closese relative P. auritula
(Link) which has the same type of nucleus. The main difference
between these two species (auritula and tincta) seems to he
their habitat along the Texas-Louisiana coast. P. auritula
lives exclusively in coral and algal reef environment, whereas
P. tincta can establish itself in sandy shelly habitats and on
rocky substrate, but avoids calcareous environment, In Texas
P, tincta is found on the Pleistocene beach ridges off Freeport
and sometimes on manmade jetties. It has been taken on the
beach, Cold winters appear to wipe out populations close to
the shoreline, In general, P, tincta is more slender, darker
colored, and less sculptured than P. auritula.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 14 lots, of which 8 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: beach to 12 fms. (live); beach to 15 fms. (dead).

Geographical range: North Carolina to Florida; Texas, West Indies;
Brazil (Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size: 32 'mm,

50. Pisania auritula (Link, 1807)

This. species can be mistaken for P, titcta but its habitat is
quite different. Mature specimens are much broader and coarser
than those of P, tincta, but very small juvenile material is
almost impossible to identify on shape alone. This species is
widespread throughout the offshore calcareous environment.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 10 lots of which 4 contain live
collected material.

Depth range: 13-16 fms. (live); 13-16 fms. (dead).

Geographical range: Southeast Florida and the West Indies to Brazil;
Bermuda (Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size: 35 mm.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

Fig. 3 Pisania tincta (Conrad, 1846) taken by a diver from a
limestone lump, 25 to 50 feet, one and one-half miles off Padre
Island, Texas, September 25, 1966.

Fig. 4 Pisania auritula (Link, 1807) taken by a diver from "East
Flower Gardens," coral reef 103 miles SE of Galveston, Texas.
13-16 fms., October 8, 1967. 57

TEXAS

51.

526

336

34.

CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

Pisania pusio (Linne, 1758)

A single very worn, but still colorful, specimen was taken
fromthe corak veefs. It is a veryvcharacteristic forms) £6
must be noted that no juvenile material was taken,

Records HMNS Survey Collection- 1 lots no live material,
Depth range: 13-16 fms. (dead)

Geographical range: Southeast Florida and the West Indies to
Brazil; Bermuda (Abbott, 1974).
Maximum size: 34 mn,

Colubraria lanceolata (Menke, 1828)

This easily recognized species, of which there are several
lots in our collection, has not been found alive, Its
nuclear whorls appear at the same time somewhat bulbous

and flattened because they seem to be planispiral, in con-
trast with the nucleus of Colubraria obscura which is quite
different (not planispiral), Most of our specimens have
lost their color but in some brown flecks can be observed.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 10 lots, no live material.

Depth range: 10-51 fms. (dead).

Geographical Range: North Carolina to Florida to Brazil (Abbott,
1974).

Maximum size: 24 mm.

Colubraria obscura (Reeve, 1844)

Fragments of this species in shell rubble taken from the
coral reefs are fairly common, but good perfect shells are
quite rare, We have two huge specimens, the largest of
which measures almost 2 inches in length, which was collec-
ted alive on the reef. The nucleus consists of two whorls
on top of each other and the upper one is rather bulbous.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 11 lots, one containing live
collected material.

Depth range: 10 fms. (live); 13-36 fms. (dead).

Geographical range: Southeast Florida to Lesser Antilles to
Brazil (Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size: 49 mm.

Bailya parva (A. Adams. 1850)

Somewhat of a surprise are 4 lots of this small species
which we did not recognize in the past. One specimen was
taken alive off Freeport from a sponge in water of 28 fms.
depth. This specimen is not flesh colored but has a back-
ground of cream white with brown flecks. There is an area
without brown forming a white band on the last whorl. The
nucleus is depressed and smooth.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. ALR Nos 3B5Apetl, 196°

Fig. 5 Colubraria lanceolata (Menke, 1828) 14.4 mm., collected
by dredging, 30-40 fms., at Stetson Bank, 74 miles SSE of Galveston,
Texas, by T. E. Pulley and Paul McGee, 1963.

Fig. 6 Colubraria obscura (Reeve, 1844) 12.35 mm., taken by a diver

from 65-85 ft., at a coral reef 103 miles SE of Galveston, Texas,
Oct. 63. 1967. 59

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 4 lots of which one contains
live collected material.

Depth range: 28 fms. (live)+ 4-12 fms. (dead).

Geographical range: Bahamas and the West Indies (Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size: 13's mm.

55. Engina turvinella (Kiener, 1835)

This well known species is restricted to the coral reefs.
The Texas material appears to be more nodulose than the
figure in Abbott and approaches E. corinnae in that res-
pect. It may be observed that very small juvenile material
appears to be much more slender than full grown material.
When the animal grows the shell assumes the knobby and
colored aspect of the mature animal,

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 7 lots of which 2 contain live
collected material,

Depth range: 10-16 fms, (live); 2-16 fms. (dead).

Geographical range: Southeast Florida to Brazil (Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size: 12 mm,

56. Engina corinnae Crovo, 1971

This is definitely a surprise, We did not recognize this
species when we first worked through the material of the
coral reefs, but set it apart for further consideration,
It differs from the other Ensina in that it appears knob-
bier and its color is much lighter, Quite characteristic
is the brownish band between the knobs and the lavender
or mauve aperture. In my opinion it remains somewhat
doubtful whether this somewhat different looking shell

is truly a different species.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 1 lot, containing live
collected material,

Depth range: 18 fms. (live),

Geographical range; Only reported from’Southeast Florida
(Abbott, 1974),

Maximum size: 9,3 mm.

57. Bartschia agassizi (Clench and Aguayo, 1941) .

In the collection are two lots of this slender fusiform
buccinid which earlier has been reported as Antemetula
agassizi. It is a deeper water form about which practi-
cally nothing is known,

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 2 lots, no live material.

Depth range: 70 fms. (dead).

Geographical range: Known from the Gulf of Mexico only
(Abbott, 1974),

Maximum size: 26 mm,

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

Fig. 7 Engina turbinella (Kiener, 1835) 11.6 mm., collected by
divers, 13-16 fms., at “East Flower Gardens," coral reef 103
miles SE of Galveston, Texas, Oct. 8, 1967.

Fig. 8 Bartschia agassizi (Clench and Aguayo, 1941) 18.8 m.,
dredged from 70 fms., mud bottom, 68 miles SSE of Freeport, Texas,
by H. Geis and S. Stubbs, July 8, 1967.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

58.

59.

Antillophos candei (Orbigny, 1842)

This is a fairly common species in somewhat deeper water.
In our collection there is nc* live taken material, but
there are some rather fresh shells. These sometimes show
vague yellow bands on the whorls. In our material is
mixed another somewhat smaller species, that must be quite

closely related and which shows 3 hrown bands. It is
considerably smaller than candei, has a deeper suture and

is clearly less beaded. Specimens of candei of the same
length are more squat in outline and much coarser looking,
Since I do not know the name I will call it here Species A.
Abbott, 1974, mentions two other species--A. adelus
(Schwengel, 1942), and A. beauii (Fischer and Bernardi,
1860). Antillophos is immediately recognized by its glassy,
shiny and carinated nucleus which is different from other
buccinids here discussed.

Records HMNS Survey Collection 18 lots, no live material.

Depth range: 4 fms. to 70 fms. (dead).

Geographical range: Both sides of Florida’ West Indies to Brazil
(Abbott, 1974).

Maximum size: 27 mm.

Antillophos sp. A

A smaller, more slender species with deeper suture, finer
cancellation, deeper color and less beaded.

Records HMNS Survey Collection: 5 lots, no live material.
Depth range: 10-55 fms. (dead).

Maximum size: 16mm.

(To be continued)

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

Fig. 9 Antillophos candei (Orbigny, 1842) dredged from 50 fms. by
Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, 69 miles SSE of Freeport, Texas,
sept. 1,.1966.

Fig. 10 Antillophos sp. A. 8.5 mm., dredged from 30-40 fms.,
Stetson Bank, 74 miles SSE of Galveston, Texas, by T. E. Pulley
and Paul McGee, 1963.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

SEARCH -AND SEIZURE BY CONSTANCE BOONE

In a separate article in this issue, the correction is made on
the measurement of the holotype of our common Simnia. We address
remarks here to other problems, because we seek help from our
members and from readers elsewhere.

In reviewing the material at the Houston Museum of Natural Science
we see several groups of Simnias from Texas waters. An error was
made by Cate in naming what gorgonian rolls up commonly on southern
beaches in Texas. Cate said his Simnialena marferula washed up on
Leptogorgia virgulata. This is incorrect, and Andrews and other
workers have stated correctly that this sea whip is Leptogorgia
setacea. However, we do have Leptogorgia virgulata, which is a
sea whip looking very much like L. setacea to me except that

Dr. T. E. Pulley explains that it is branched. L. virgulata
occurs attached to the jetties and has been collected even on the
Freeport jetties, I understand. It may also occur offshore at oil
rig sites. We know that gorgonia is collected there, as well as
one more smaller "fan" coral.

We need to have information on the Simnias collected specifically
from the different types of coral and need to have animal obser-
vations. What we really have we do not know. There do not seem to
be animal studies to help us in making determinations. Names we have
used may not be correct at all for the material we have from various
localities, including the offshore material.

Personal communication with one collector in Texas, Carl Young of
Corpus Christi, confirms that he collected Simnias on the branched
gorgonian on the jetties at Port Aransas and that they seemed differ-
ent. However, he states the gorgonian was usually yellow and the
shells were usually yellow. Following Cate, Andrews in 1977 states
that the color was deep rose brown overall for this Simnia she desig-
nated Simnialena uniplicata. We do not know of any Simnia in Texas
that is always this color. Simnias seem to take the color of the
host coral and may be yellow, orangish, purplish or rose.

We also wish to discover whether there are any differences in the
animal patterns. Identification of Ovulidae often depends on the
animal mantle patterns. We have been trying to find pictures of
living animals named. It has become a puzzle even here. American
Seashells, Abbott, 1974, has a picture of Simnia acicularis (Lamarck,
1810) on page 152 showing a geometric pattern of black "blocks" on
the mantle. There is no way for me to tell what gorgonian it shows.
In Compendium of Seashells, Abbott and Dance, 1982, there is a color
photo of a Simnia acicularis animal and it seems somewhat different,
a less dense pattern. Again, in The Audubon Society Field Guide of
North American Seashells, Rehder, 1981, on page 687 of photos there
is a picture of what is supposed to be Simnia acicularis and it is
quite different with a clear looking mantle with white tufts. I do

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

not know what we are really seeing in the photos. Nor do I know
what S. uniplicata really looks like. Our common Simnia marferula
seems to have a black border geometric design on the exposed mantle.
Nobody has really looked enough at the animals to say for sure if
there are differences in Simnias occuring in Texas waters. I do
not have photos of animals.

We need comparison material from everywhere in the Western Atlantic.
If you collect in Florida or the Caribbean this summer, please keep
in mind we would like to have Simnias, preferably preserved in
isopropyl alcohol, at least, with some of the host coral, if possible.
If you are a photographer, help us take some closeup photos. Maybe
we can solve something.

RREKRKRKEKEKRRKERRRERERERE

Janey Moore of Clute, Texas, has added another record to collections
in Texas by discovering live Brachidontes domingensis (Lamarck, 1819)
on the jetties on both sides of the Brazos River at Freeport. She
found the first ones on March 21, 1982, at the Surfside jetty about
half way out the jetty in a tide pool at low tide. The small dark
brown mussel is similar to B. exustus (Linne, 1758) but is "more
arched and with fewer radial riblets forming about 50 to 70 small
denticles on the edge of the valves" according to Abbott's American
Seashells, 1974. The small shells were found among striped anemones,
according to Janey, and with Isognomon alatus (Gmelin, 1791). Janey
found the mussels several months later about halfway out the Quintana
side jetties at Freeport. This mussel normally occurs in the Carib-
bean. Specimens have been donated to the Houston Museum of Natural
Science and identification confirmed by Dr. T. E. Pulley.

KREKKEKKRKKRKKRKRERKERE

Last November while on an HMNS field trip to Port Aransas, we crossed
over by boat to San Jose Island to collect. We were told by the
University of Texas Marine Institute that we should confine our col-
lecting to the area along the beach to the fence because the area
beyond that was patrolled and privately owned. It is maintained as
a ranch. At the end of our day I met up with Theresa Stelzig of
Portland, an active sheller with the Coastal Bend Shell Club at
Corpus Christi. She has made some spectacular finds farther up the
island of San Jose and had that day been up about 3% to 4 miles
where the better finds are made. You will recall we published a
story of many Amaea mitchelli being collected there. I remarked to
her about our information about going up that beach.

Theresa has now given me more information. Yes, that is private
land, of course; and yes, it is patrolled and you may be asked to
leave. It seems that the patrols don't bother "older couples or
older shellers" but that anyone younger may be asked to leave.

Others have reported this also. You do not have the right to col-
lect beyond that fence. It is true that shellers from the Corpus
club continue to go up that island. Many of them do know the patrol-
lers. :

KKKKKKRKEKEKKKEKKRKEKERE
65

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

And, finally, there is always one good Story to tell about a fabulous
finds:

Our member, Bart Jones who has Shells and Accessories on Chimney
Rock north of the Southwest Freeway and close to Westheimer, took
a family cruise to the Caribbean and Stopped at the island of St.

Martin. At a little side shop he found a few shells he bought for
SZ 020,

One of the shells has now been identified as Morum dennisoni, (Reeve,
1842), a RARE Morum. One other is as yet an unidentified, unusual
Lyria, I think. The other shell is Tugurium caribaeum (Petit, 1856),

the carrier shell many of us got from the dredge baskets from the
Gulf of Mexico.

What he didn't take, because he couldn't stand what the woman had

So, call Bart and find out where that shop is if you are going there
this summer. Who knows what you will find.

In this case, Bart didn't even try to drive a hard bargain. The

price he paid was what was asked and he didn't know what he had
either!

REE KHHKHEK HEHEHE HH

SHELLS IN THE NEWS

In the last issue of TC we had a short note on the devastation
wrought by the Giant African Snail wherever it was introduced. In
the Travel Section of The Houston Chronicle, March 6, 1983, there
was a funny, but sad perhaps, note about the owner of a resort, Goco
Palms, on Kauai, Hawaii, who paid $3,000 for wood ducks to add color
to the lagoon on her property. To her horror, the ducks ate the
elegant water lilies in the lagoon, so the owner put a bounty on

the head of every duck! Guests were encouraged to help catch the
ducks. According to the story, "yesterday's wood ducks are today's
snails". Now the owner, every Wednesday, gives guests plastic
gloves, plastic pickle buckets and sticks and asks them to catch

the African Snails eating the resort's foliage. The guest who

comes back with the most snails earns a free dinner at the resort's

restaurant. During the first week of the hunt 188 pounds of snails
were gathered!

REKKKKKERKEKKKKKKKKEKKEE

Via the Southwest Florida Shell News, Vol. 17, No. 2, March aaa.
we learned that the Sanibel City Council has again rejected res-
trictions on taking live shells in the waters around the island city.
This time the restriction proposed was rejected because the City
Attorney ruled that a municipal ordinance would be unconstitutional.
Only the State of Florida has the power to regulate mollusks and

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TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

other saltwater resources on sovereign owned lands to the State of
Florida. State lawmakers have refused so far to consider adopting
special legislation to ban or restrict shelling around Sanibel
because of the lack of scientific evidence that the mollusks are
actually threatened.

KKEKKKEKKEKKEKERKERERERE

Also from the Southwest Florida Shell News of March, 1983, we
gleaned some facts about experiments in hatching and rearing
Strombus gigas being conducted by Scott Siddall and others at the
University of Miami. The article had appeared originally in the
Wall Street Journal, authored by James P. Sterba.

Mr. Siddall said five persons operating a modest hatchery could
produce three million to 11 million five-month-old, one-inch-long
conchs for from 1.7 cents to 5.6 cents each. Only 4 to 14 percent
of them would have to survive the 24 years to adulthood to pay the
hatchery's operating costs.

Queen Conchs are cheap to raise because they are vegetarians. He
stated that, like other marine animals, many conchs die as infants
in the ocean. To protect itself, the conch, though slow moving,
learns to make an occasional leap of several inches to cut the trail
of slime it leaves and thus confounds its pursuers.

The conch can also regenerate a part lost from an underwater pre-
dator. Even the male can regenerate his most important part, the
researcher stated.

The Miami research team has related field-testing projects in the
Caribbean. This is considered very important because conchs are
a major food source throughout the islands. The report says that
tourists are learning to enjoy conch fritters, conch salad, conch
chowder, even conchburgers and conch pizza. Conch meat has also
beceme a ‘chic import in the U.S: , selling for $4. a pound in
Miami and as ‘Atlantic Abalone' for $7.99 at points north." It
takes four adult conchs to make a pound. That's four million of
them each year to provide the million pounds of frozen conch meat
entering the U. S. .

Therefore, conchs are getting harder to find throughout the Caribbean.
This makes the conch hatcheries very important for the future sur-
vival of Strombus gigas.

Strombus gigas also is a historic symbol in Florida. The article
pointed out that British loyalists during the Revolutionary War fled
to Florida. When Britain gave Florida to Spain about 5,000 of them
moved to the Bahamas. They came to be known as "the conchs". They
drifted back to the Florida Keys later and used conch shells as
their symbols. Only recently the Keys threatened to secede and be
known as the Conch Republic in a fight with the U. S. Border Patrol.

At the 1981 meeting of the American Malacological Union at Ft.
Lauderdale, Florida, one of Mr. Siddall's hatchlings was offered

in the auction with papers to prove it was truly a hatchling. This
Editor tried to get it but was outbid finally!

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

CABO SAN LUCAS, BAJA CALIFORNIA By Cynthia Biasca

The week before Christmas, Frank and I stayed with our daughter and son-
in-law and their 9 month old son at a house they had rented 5 miles from

Cabo San Lucas in a fairly new development associated with Hotel Cabo Baja.

From the upper floor of the house we had a spectacular view of Cabo San
Lucas, the bay in front of it and the famous arch in the rocky point that
juts out from behind the Hotel Solmar. A 5 minute walk took us to the
rocks below the Hotel Cabo Baja, where I spent several afternoons combing
them for shells, the low tide coming in late afternoon.

The 5 of us also went to other bays and rocky areas along the coast east
of Cabo San Lucas, where we snorkeled and clambered over rocks. We all
took turns carrying the baby in his backpack, and grew adept at walking
over rocks with the utmost caution, bending carefully to pick up shells
so we wouldn't catapult him onto the rocks! We liked Santa Maria Bay,
east of Hotel Twin Dolphins, best for snorkeling, and the rocks in front
of the hotel and to the west best for rock shells. A curious finding
was that in only one small set of rocks, protected somewhat, perhaps, by
larger rock formations nearby, were the Collisella atrata (Carpenter)
absolutely clean, whereas everywhere else along the coast, even a few
yards away, they were heavily encrusted,

While snorkeling, we collected 5 Hexaplex princeps Broderip, 2 in quite
good condition, the others badly eroded; 5 Conus diadema Sowerby; 1
Opeatostoma pseudodon Burrows; and a few Patella mexicana (Broderip and
Sowerby) which Abbott says in American Seashells is the largest living
limpet in the world, although ours were a mere 2 or 3 inches,

Most pleasurable were the hours exploring the rocks (sometimes with waves
crashing over them) and the tide pools at lowest tide. At the highest
levels were the Littorina (5 species) and the nerites, Nerita funiculata
Menke and Nerita scabricosta Lamarck. However, at a certain point in the
tide change, the N. scabricosta were found huddled in large groups just
above the tide line, and only gradually climbed much higher up on the
rocks as I watched,

At mid-tide line were many Collisella atrata (Carpenter) and Acmaea
fascicularis (Menke); Siphonaria maura ~ Sowerby, Siphonaria palmata
Carpenter and 1] Trimusculus stellatus | Sowerby; and hundreds of Purpura
patella pansa Gould. At the lowest tide line were the pretty Fissurella
rubropicta Pilsbrys; several Thais planospira Lamarck, a most beautiful
shell; a few Thais triangularis (Blainville); Thais speciosa (Valenciennes)
with its yellow columella; and Thais haemastoma biserialis (Blainville)
very much like the Texas T. haemastoma,

In the tide pools, mostly in crevices and not easy to spot, were Mitra
tristis Broderip, Morula ferruginosa Reeve, Columbella fuscata Sowerby
and Conus nux Broderip. The C, nux came out just after the tide turned
very suddenly; one minute there were none, then the place was crawling
with the tiny cones, Frank found a live Morum tuberculosum (Reeve) that

measures 40 mm. whereas Abbott lists it as 12 to 20 mm.

Coming home, our plane was delayed at San Jose del Cabo airport by 2%
hours, so we missed our Los Angeles connection, Aeromexico was able

to reserve space for us on a later PSA flight (Christmas Eve would have
been a sad time to be stranded in L. A.) and rushed us through customs,

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

remarking our bags and putting them on the Interline moving belt.
When we reached Oakland, only 6 of the 7 bags came down the chute,
the missing one being mine. I really didn't care - it had clothes
that were easily replaceable - because my other bag, with all my
shelling and snorkeling gear and all my shells, was safely in my pos-
session, The shells had been cleaned, identified, catalogued and put
away before the other bag mysteriously reappeared three weeks later.

HHH HHEHH HHH HIKE

BACK TO MATAGORDA ISLAND - AT LAST! By Helen Eberspacher

They say the third time's the charm. And so it was for me,
because it was my third attempt to get back to Matagorda Island.
(I had been once before on 3/7/81 with HCS.) The first attempt,
which was last year, my foursome did not get to Port O'Connor due
to car trouble near Port Lavaca. (It was good timing; otherwise
we would have been caught in the violent rainstorm on the island
as were so many HCS members.) The second attempt was February 5
of this year when the Outdoor Nature Club's trip was cancelled
that morning at 10:00, with 30-plus shellers ready and waiting.
The weather was stormy, and rain was predicted to continue all
day. So, on March 5, the ONC group made it and had a beautiful
day on the island. As before, when I made the trip with the HCS,
we were dropped off in small groups at intervals along the Gulf
Beach.

Speaking for my foursome, we found quite a few whole Scotch

Bonnets, mostly old, but one of mine was immature and still had its
colorful spots. Two of us found Distorsios in good condition. I
found a young Tun in good color and shape and a beautiful large
double pink Tellin. There were lots of very large Moon Snails,
large double Disks and single valves of the Greatheart Cockle. We
picked up many Sun Dials, some quite colorful. I guess the biggest
thrill for all of us was each finding several recently dead Sun
Dials with animals and operculums. All of these were about the

same size (a little larger than a quarter) and very dark in color
and markings. It was the first time any of us had ever seen a Sun
Dial operculum. We also found some Sea Beans which are always fun
to find. The tide was going out while we were there but nothing was
found alive or dead as it receded. Everything we found was in the
debris left behind from previous high tides. The beach was quite
littered with the usual flotsam and jetsam, including many hard hats
in bright colors.

(Note: Matagorda Island will be maintained by the State of Texas

in the future if plans go through. We do not know what public access
will be afforded visitors. At this time shellers are taken by vehi-
cles to the beach arranged with the help of U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.)

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

ADULT Panopea bitruncata DUG IN TEXAS

Janey Moore
137 Dodge
Clute, Texas 77531

ABSTRACT A live adult Panopea bitruncata (Conrad, 1872) dug at
South Padre Island, Texas, in January, 1983, provides pertinent
details on the burrow and animal in situ. This appears to be the
first adult dug in Texas, although records exist for dredged speci-
mens.

On a business trip to South Padre Island at the end of January, I
found time to make the most exciting shell collecting trip of my
life. On Sunday, January 30, 1983, during a very low tide in Laguna
Madre Bay, I chanced upon what appeared to be a large Angel Wing hole
in about ankle deep water. It was perfectly round, clean-edged,

and about one and a half inches wide. I reached into the hole with
my fingers and felt a tough leathery siphon. Although it did not feel
like an Angel Wing siphon, I still assumed it was one and removed my
jacket in preparation for digging it out. After digging about six
inches deep, the hole expanded to a diameter of about four and a

half inches. It curved down and back into the mud. I reached into
the hole as far as my arm would go and was unable to feel the bottom.

The sides of the hole were smooth, well-worn, and clean without any
slimy feel. By then, I knew this was definitely not an Angel Wing,
but I had no idea what it might be.

I checked my position with thoughts of bringing back a shovel and
continued looking for shells. About twenty feet farther I found

a slight depression in the mud which was about a foot across. In
the center was a mound of soft mud which appeared to have boiled

up and settled gently, unlike the worm casting mounds in the area.

I dug my fingers through the mud and again felt a tough leathery
siphon. This time I held onto the siphon as it slowly pulled a
couple of inches down into the hole and stopped. I began to dig
into the firm packed mud and sand with bare fingers and a tablespoon
I had brought along. After digging about six inches, I could feel

a large firm lump of animal in the hole but felt no signs of a shell.
I began to think it must be some type of sea cucumber or anemone.
Only my curiosity kept me going at this point because the digging
was not easy. After digging past about eight inches of lumpy animal,
I finally felt the hardness of shell and grew excited, because in my
wildest imagination there was only one thing this shell could be. I
continued digging carefully until the shell was loose, then grabbed
the siphon and pulled. My suspicions were correct. It was a Panopea
bitruncata or Geoduck Clam.

The animal of this P. bitruncata was very swollen and bulging out of
the shell. It's siphon extended to about seven inches long. The
Shell itself later measured 131 mm. long, 78 mm. wide and 60 on.
across with the animal intact. It was kept alive in sea water for

two days. During that time the animal slowly emitted water and it's
siphon shrank down to three inches and the valves would come to within

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

an inch of closing.

From my observations of the first hole I discovered, P. bitruncata
lives in a burrow. This burrow accommodates the size of the shell
except for the top six inches, which is large enough only for the
siphon to reach the surface. The animal moves up and down in the
burrow at will. The reflexes of the P. bitruncata appeared much
slower than the Angel Wing. When I held onto it's siphon, the animal
was not able to go to the bottom of the burrow quickly enough. It
then pumped itself full of water as a defense and became lodged in
the upper portion of its burrow so that I was able to dig it out.

After discovering what was making these unusual holes, it was only
natural that I wanted to dig the first hole out and obtain the other
shell as well. With the aid of my brother, his friend and two
shovels, we dug a hole three feet deep and as wide. We were un-
successful in finding the shell or the continuing burrow before the
tide came in on us and made further digging impossible.

On my next trip to South Padre three weeks later, I relocated the
hole. It was almost refilled with sand and the mud was very putrid.
The water level ranged from one and a half to three feet deep during
the four days I was there and redigging was impossible.

At the present time the hole has been filled in and will be difficult
to relocate. It is my hope, though, that sometime soon when the tides
cooperate, I will be able to dig deeper and claim the dead valves for
my dry collection.

The P. bitruncata which I did obtain will be preserved with the animal
intact and will be displayed at the Brazosport Museum of Natural
Science in Lake Jackson, Texas.

It is very exciting and gratifying to me to be one of a minute few
who know the feeling of digging a live P. bitruncata with their own
hands.

NOTES FROM THE LITERATURE By Constance Boone

Dr. Robert Robertson reviewed the literature of Panopea bitruncata

in Nautilus, Vol. 76, No. 3, January, 1963, giving us information
that this shell seems to be rather rare throughout its range, princi-
pally the Carolinian Province. That review updated the known range
and depth information from 1956 and included two records from
dredging in offshore Texas waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Until

his report the literature included this species as far west only

to Alabama.

W. C. DeWitt, now deceased, provided Dr. Robertson with a preserved
adult shell taken by shrimp fishermen from 17-25 fathoms near some
oil rigs off Galveston Island. This shell was 17.7 cm. long, 11.9
cm. high and valves closed were 8.6 cm. wide. DeWitt reported that
the partially contracted siphons extended 7% ins. beyond the pos-
terior end of the shell. There were several other animals taken

by chat shrimper, but the location of these shells is not known.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

Fig. 1 Panopea bitruncata (Conrad, 1872} Collected by Janey Moore,
Jan. 30, 1983, at South Padre Island, Texas.

Fig. 2 Panopea bitruncata (Conrad, 1872) length 131 mm., compared
to hand, held in triumph. |
Photos by Janey Moore

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

The DeWitt shell is still on view today at the Brazosport Museum of
Natural Science on the campus of the Brazosport College near Lake
Jackson, Texas.

The Robertson paper also reported that Larry Allen, late husband
of member Betty Allen of Port Isabel, Texas, recovered a live
specimen of Panopea bitruncata while shrimping when the boat's
shrimping boards buried in a mud lump. This specimen, according
to Betty Allen, was damaged. The animal was given to the marine
lab at Rockport, Texas.

Robertson reported recovery of other animals, including one taken
alive apparently from the surface in the St. Augustine Inlet, Florida,
whick revealed barnacles on the siphons indicating the animal had
been exposed for some time, suggesting it could not reburrow.

Charles W. Johnson's paper on this species in Nautilus, Vol. 18,
No. 7, November, 1904, discussed finding a whole specimen on a

sand bar near St. Augustine, Florida, near a favorable habitat of
sand and mud. He repeated the excellent discussion by Dall in
Contributions to the Tertiary Fauna of Florida in Transactions of
the Wagner Free Institute of Science, which pointed out that the
substrate of such animals as Panopea may alter the size and appear-
ance of the shells.

This paper also united the recent and Pliocene forms of Panopea

in U. S. Eastern shores under Conrad's Panopea bitruncata. A
synonymy is given. He also pointed out that Conrad's type was
obtained at Fort Macon, North Carolina and that it was an injured
specimen with the upper or dorsal portion of the posterior end
being broken away. The type is at the Academy of Natural Sciences
of Philadelphia.

There have been very few reports of this species being hand dug.

A few were reported from the Florida West Coast. In Texas we know
that one juvenile was collected alive by Carl Young at the Aransas
Pass to Mustang Island Channel. Andrews in Shells and Shores of
Texas, 1977, states "live, juvenile specimens" were taken in the
Aransas Pass Channel and reports that she collected the species at
Port Mansfield. Except for the Young specimen, we know no parti-
culars.

The species was reported by Ode in his discussion of the bivalves
of the Northwest Gulf of Mexico. The survey material, housed at
the Houston Museum of Natural Science, contains 6 lots. Ode
pointed out that, except for Atrina, this is the largest bivalve in
Texas waters. (Texas Conchologist XIII, (1) p. 24)

A large pair is on display in the Texas Shells exhibit at HMNS on
the second floor. It is from the survey material.

Janey Moore's feat is indeed an accomplishment to be proud of and
we expect that she will report on other recoveries of this species
as she already has made several other attempts to dig other speci-
mens. By the time this is in your hands she may have been successful.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

She reports finding more "depressions" in the mud she considers
evidence of other burrows. We will keep you informed.

As recently as 1954, Abbott's American Seashells, First Edition,
proposed that this species might actually be extinct. American
Seashells, 1974, states it is "uncommon" and said it lives as deep
as 4 feet below the surface. There is evidence it might live off-
shore where it is hard to retrieve. Dr. T. E. Pulley, director
emeritus HMNS, says divers have reported holes in the substrate
where valves have been found on the surface.

Janey Moore's saga is even more interesting, I think. Just a short
time before she made her trip to South Padre, she was in Florida

and visited Jack Rudloe's marine specimen establishment at Panacea,
West Coast of Florida. There in an aquarium she saw a bivalve alive
that she thought must be a Panopea. It had been dredged. It was
apparently a juvenile. Janey asked what it was, received no iden-
tification from Rudloe but did manage to get the specimen and to
bring it home alive to deposit in an aquarium at the Brazosport
Museum of Natural Science where it lived for a few days. It is
somewhat differently shaped from the adult Janey dug in Texas, but
this bears out the statements made about substrate affecting the
size and shape of the shell made by Dall. I have seen the shell,
and both Mildred Tate and I do think it is Panopea bitruncata. For
Janey to bring this home to Texas and then to go out and dig a bigger
one in Texas makes Janey's story quite remarkable. The day she
called Mildred Tate from South Padre she asked her to guess what

she had found. Mildred immediately guessed Panopea! And so it was!

KRKHEE GHEE

BOOK REVIEWS

COMPENDIUM OF SEASHELLS by R, Tucker Abbott and S, Peter Dance, 410
pp. + lx, 4200 color photographs, taxonomic classification and bibli-

ography, brief index to common names, index to scientific names, 8 5/8

x 11" hardbound, E, P. Dutton,, Inc. 1982,

The "Compendium of Seashells" by R. Tucker Abbott and S, Peter Dance
is, in some ways, much like a delightful little book called "Index
Testaceologicus" by W, Wood, which was published over 150 years ago.
Both are filled with beautiful colored pictures of seashells; there
are 4,200 in Abbott and Dance's book and 2,780 in Wood's.

In his preface Wood stated: "It has therefore been the endeavor of
the author, in the absence of larger and more costly publications, to
supply their place by a work which will incorporate in one volume
figures of all the known shells, reduced indeed to small size, but
with a degree of accuracy that, it is hoped, will not only enable the

conchologist to fix upon any particular species he may wish to define,

but also to arrange his collection by inspection, without the trouble
of consulting other publications on the subject."

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3. April, 1983

In their preface, Abbott and Dance say: "About 30,000 species of
marine mollusks are known. Thousands are less than half an inch in
size, even in the adult stage; many hundreds are confined to the great
depths of the oceans. Our book concentrates on all the others, Their
inclusion here is based on several factors: attractiveness, desira~
bility, rarity, and availability. Included are most species belonging
to popular groups, such as the cones, volutes, cowries, murexes,
scallops, and thorny oysters."

The "Compendium of Seashells" is unlike any other modern book. Most
recent conchological books have either been intended as monographs of
particular families or genera or they have been identification manuals
for all the mollusks of a particular area. The "Compendium of Seashells
includes most of the major groups of mollusks for the entire world, but
it can do so only by eliminating the smaller and less attractive species.
Who, then, will use this book, and how?

As the authors state in the preface, this new book is intended primarily
for the amateur shell collector. But there are many kinds of amateurs,
and many of them have interests that are quite different from the interests

of others.

About the only thing that all amateurs (and professionals too) have in
common is the desire to put a name on everything, and the "Compendium"
is not very useful for that, It is true that many beginning collectors
will find a photograph that is close enough to something they have in
hand that they are satisfied with the name they can put on the shell.
More experienced conchologists know that such names are often wrong,
For an amateur wanting to put names on all the shells collected in a
particular area, such as the Texas coast, the "Compendium" is of no
help at all.

The real audience for the "Compendium" is the amateur who is

thrilled by the beauty in form and color that can be seen in end-
less array in the shells of mollusks, For most amateur collectors,
however, these shells come from far away exotic places, and the only
way to get them is from shell shops and dealers’ lists, Such shells
usually come with identifications already made, and so naming them is
not a problem, °

The "Compendium" is an excellent guide to all of the most beautiful
shells in the world, and it is amazing how many of them can be ob-
tained from dealers and in trade at very modest prices, As any cole
lector knows, however, it is not too long after acquiring the first
Tiger Cowry that a Golden Cowry seems almost a necessity to fill

out the collection,

For someone who loves the beauty of nature and wishes to capture some
of that beauty in a carefully selected collection of shells, the
"Compendium of Seashells" is an excellent guide.

No book review can be completed without a little fault-finding by

the reviewer, and I have two complaints, Although most of the color
plates are excellent, there are several in which the colors are so
muddied that definition is lost. The second complaint is the lack of
any system in the way the species are arranged on the page. Up to 12
species are illustrated on each page, and for large groups, such as

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

the cones with 29 pages, it would have helped if the species had been
listed in alphabetical order. More useful would have been placing
closely related species together, but no such organization is apparent.
In families which include several genera, not even all of the species
in a genus are placed together, These would be regarded as minor
faults, I suppose, by the people who find the "Compendium" mose useful,

T, E. Pulley

SEASHELLS OF OMAN by Donald and Eloise Bosch, edited by Kathleen Smythe.
208 pages, over 350 color illustrations, 246 x 189 mm. hardbound,
Longman Group Limited, London and New York, 1982,

This beautiful book is authored by two enthusiastic amateur collectors
who have spent over 27 years as medical officer and teacher for the
Sultanate of Oman, Early on in their hobby they found literature on
the area was extremely difficult to obtain, When they returned to the
United States to visit they would also consult with professional mala-
cologists who were often eager to see their material, Tributes to
them, according to R, Tucker Abbott's foreword, are in the form of
recently described species--Conus boschi, Cymatium boschi, and Acteon
eloiseae, There are already more:

All shells are shown in color, often with variations, sometimes with
the shells a bit encrusted as if to remind you that this is the way

the shell was found, It is true that many of the shells have never
been found alive by the authors, Their hunt for the habitats of the
shells continues, but some rare shells show up washed up on the beaches.

This is a good guide, I think, for identification of shells from Oman,
There is no pretense that it would be used for any other area in the
vicinity. Each discussion is related to what the couple has found

in Oman. There are 46 pages of bivalves, especially valuable to
collectors,

Having met the authors at the 1981 AMU meeting where they presented
a slide lecture and where they displayed some of their shells, this
was a book I looked forward to getting, Dr, Bosch showed us a cover
with the magnificent Acteon eloiseae on it. Since then I have ac-
quired many of the shells, including this Acteon with its marvelous
pattern and its operculum, not »ften seen. «

Constance E, Boone

(Note; Both books reviewed have arrived for the RCS library?

HOUSTON CONCHOLOGY SOCIETY, INC.

Officers 1982-1983

President

Program Vice-President
Field Trip Vice-President
Treasurer

Recording Secretary

Corresponding Secretary

Directors

Mary Ann Curtis
Ruth Finer

Charles Glover

Editor, Texas Conchologist

Immediate Past President

Lucy Clampit
Curtis Fleming
Al Mohle

Jim Sartor
Mimi Miller

Betty Genusa

Lloyd Meister
Fannie Miron

Bob Sappington

Constance E. Boone

David B. Green

Honorary Life Members

Deets E. Pulley

Dr. Helmer Odé

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 3, April, 1983

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Simnia Holotype Measurement Correction
Constance BOONG sc ccccceccoccccceecsccoeceeossanwaneee

Trachypollia sclera Woodring, 1928, in the Recent
Fauna of the Gulf of Mexico (1 plate)
Emily H. VOKES sc cccccocccccocecesecscvececcnse mann

Distribution and Records of the Marine Mollusca
in the Northwest Gulf of Mexico (Continuing)
Part II: Gastropoda--Family Buccinidae (5 plates)

He OdGcdc ccabcncciaee cee edeaeeneebuus sean ee

Search and Seizure
Constance BOONC ss o u's 0 0% 0100eceb.a00eee nb cna

Shells in the NGWS sos vices 0000s ciced-sea cess 6alee bikie en

Cabo San Lucas, Baja California
Cynthia BLASCAcccvcedcceccccccbaveces aeceeute s wnm——n

Back to Matagorda Island-——At Last!
Helen Eberspacher.sscscccecesccesccccesoccnan aa

Adult Panopea bitruncata Due in Texas (1 plate)
Janey MOOTEsccccoccccccocccoscvcececeseccecesssenmene

Book REViGWS. cccececetsosvscewsdaeenu .enlacuss eosin

CONCHOLOGIST

8 ad

oy. ie
VOLUME XIX NO. 4

JULY, 1983

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and May. The meeting is held the third Wednesday in November. Mee
are held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, Caroline Street

Hermann Park, beginning at 7:30 p.m. |

The TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST is published October, January, April and Jul
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Dues extend from the beginning of the fiscal year of June 1 through
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EDITOR « -: CIRCULATION
it
Constance E. Boone — Mr. Grytch Williams E ‘
668-8252 664-2809 ‘Al
3706 Rice Boulevard 6644 Belmont
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EDITORIAL STAFF

Helmer Ode" AeLS Emily R. Oakes

3319 Big Bend Drive A735 5906 7m
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The TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST accepts contributions for publication from
teurs, students, and professionals, subject to approval by the

Manuscripts should be typed, double spaced and should be in the
the Editor the first day of the month preceding publica de
Photos accompanying such material are welcomed.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

MARINE SHELLS OF THE OUTER BAJA CALIFORNIA COAST By T. E. Pulley

There have been few published reports of the shells of the outer Baja
California coast. Until recently, it has been very difficult to travel
anywhere in Baja California, and there is still only limited access by
road to the outer coast.

This report is based on shells that were collected during whale watching
expeditons sponsored by the Houston Museum of Natural Science during the
years 1980 to 1983. Mrs. Constance Boone was the principal collector in
1981, and Dr. T. E. Pulley in the other years. The places visited were

about 200 miles apart and included the following: Todos Santos Islands off
Ensenada, San Martin Island, San Benito Island and nearby Cedros Island, San
Ignacio Lagoon, Magdalena Bay, and a beach near Pulmo Reef about 40 miles
north of Cape San Lucas on the eastern shore of the Peninsula. Also visited
were Isabella Island and San Blas on the west coast of mainland Mexico, about
300 miles southeast of Cape San Lucas.

Since the trips were planned primarily for whale watching, only a limited
time was available for shell collecting, and rarely could shore visits be
timed for low tides. The list of species is therefore far from complete,
but it probably does include most of the common things that are likely to
be found on the beaches.

The list for San Ignacio Lagoon is the longest, because much more time was
available for collecting there. It was also visited on each of the four
trips, as were all of the localities to the north. Magdalena Bay, Pulmo
Reef beach, Isabella Island, and San Blas were seen only on the 1983 trip.

Baja California has long been known as a faunal transition zone between the
cool water to the north and the warmer water which extends from the Gulf of
California to Peru. This species list amply confirms the fact that almost
everything on the outer Baja California coast is either at the northern
limit or the southern limit of its range.

The Baja California Peninsula is about 700 miles long. It is shorter than
the distance between Miami, Florida and Cape Hatteras, and yet there are
almost no species that occur on the northern Baja California coast and also
in the warmer water of western mainland Mexico. This is in sharp contrast
to the fairly large number of species found both at Miami and Cape Hatteras.

The two most useful publications for the shells of the outer Baja California
coast are Sea Shells of Tropical West America, 1971, by Myra Keen and Marine
Shells of Southern California, 1976, | by James H. McLean. In this list, the
species number used by each author is given. Note how few species are listed
by both authors.

1983

No. a, July

XIX,

XAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol.

-
ors

alo
iL

OOTX8QW pueyureu)

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uOTSNOYH FYI Aq atJ9ayI IFSTA e

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ay) uo aouepunge uz punoj sem (QEBT ‘ULsSe1) eyaeuedny Jeiqd TT *3ta

“A
ica
Dd
Pee

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

San Diego

Todos » ® 'nsenad
Santos
Islands

San
Martin rg.

San Beni¢

Island MAINLAND
MEXICO
San Ionacio
Lagoon
S
@
aN
%, as Magdalena
ba
Ay ¥

Isabella
San Blas

® Collecting localities

Puarto

Departure points
* - : Vallarta

Fig. 2 Localities for collection of mollusks on HMNS whale watching
expeditions form 1980-1983 are pinpointed on the map above of Baja
California and mainland Mexico.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

CLASS GASTROPODA
SUBCLASS PROSOBRANCHIA
ORDER ARCHAEOGASTROPODA

KEEN NUMBER
MCLEAN NUMBER
TODOS SANTOS

SAN MARTIN

SAN BENITO
CEDROS ISLAND
SAN IGNACIO
MAGDALENA

SAN BLAS

FAMILY HALIOTIDAE

Haliotis corrugata
av cracherodii
4 fulgens

FAMILY SCISSURELLIDAE
Sinezona rimuloides
FAMILY FISSURELLIDAE

Diodora digueti
" inaequalis
Lucapinella callomarginata
Fissurella asperella
a rubropicta

virescens

volcano

Megatebennus bimaculatus
Megathura crenulata

FAMILY ACMAETDAE

Acmaea mitra
Collisella asmi
rf atrata
conus
dalliana
digitalis
discors
limatula
scabra
strigatella
Notoacmaea depicta
" fenestrata |
paleacea
Scurria mesoleuca
Lottia gigantea

FAMILY TROCHIDAE

Calliostoma gemmulatum
Tegula aureotincta

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

KEEN NUMBER
MCLEAN NUMBER
TODOS SANTOS
SAN MARTIN

SAN BENITO
CEDROS ISLAND

SAN IGNACIO

| MAGDALENA |
EI eect
I. ISABELLA
SAN BLAS

Tegula eiseni

" funebralis
gallina
regina
Norrisia norrisi

xm MM OM

FAMILY SKENEIDAE

Parviturbo acuticostatus
FAMILY TURBINIDAE

Homalopoma luridum
Turbo fluctuosus
Astraea undosa

FAMILY PHASTANELLIDAE
Tricolia rubrilineata
FAMILY NERITIDAE

Nerita scabricosta
" funiculata
Theodoxus luteofasciatus

ORDER MESOGASTROPODA

FAMILY LITTORINIDAE

Littorina aspersa
= penicillata
modesta
planaxis
pullata
scutulata

FAMILY RISSOIDAE

Merelina aequisculpta
a cosmia
Alvinia purpurea
a haliotiphila
subtenuis

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

KEEN NUMBER
MCLEAN NUMBER
SAN MARTIN
SAN BENITO
CEDROS ISLAND
SAN IGNACTO
MAGDALENA

ISABELLA
SAN BLAS

FAMILY ASSIMINEIDAE
13.3 |Assiminea californica
FAMILY TRUNCATELLIDAE
13.7 |Truncatella californica
FAMILY VITRINELLIDAE
13.5}/Teinostoma supravallatum
FAMILY ARCHITECTONICIDAE
Architectonica nobilis

FAMILY TURRITELLIDAE

Turritella leucostoma
FAMILY CAECIDAE

14.1|Caecum californicum
W) ‘daria
" ecrebricinctum
14.5|Fartulum occidentale

FAMILY VERMETIDAE

Petaloconchus macrophragma
15.3|Serpulorbis squamigerus

FAMILY CERITHIIDAE

Cerithium stercusmuscarum
16.6|Cerithiopis cosmia
carpenteri

Alaba jeannettae
FAMILY POTAMIDIDAE

Cerithidea albonodosa
i mazatlanica

ms montagnei

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

KEEN NUMBER

MCLEAN NUMBER

FAMILY EPITONIIDAE

Epitonium tinctum

FAMILY HIPPONICIDAE

Hipponix antiquatus
panamensis
pilosus
tumens

FAMILY CALYPTRAEIDAE

Calyptraea conica
Crepidula aculeata
‘ coei
excavata
norrisiarum
onyx
Crepipatella lingulata
Crucibulum cyclopium
is lignarium
monticulus
scutellatum
spinosum

FAMILY NATICIDAE

Natica chemnitzii
Polinices lewisi
49 uber
24 recluzianus

FAMILY TRIVIIDAE

Trivia radians
" solandri

FAMILY CYPRAEIDAE

Cypraea albuginosa

" _ nigropunctata

"| spadicea

TODOS SANTOS
SAN MARTIN

2 iE at Be ert ee 8 ee es ee a os Be

CEDROS ISLAND

SAN IGNACIO
MAGDALENA

x MMMM OM OM OM

ISABELLA

lee

SAN BLAS

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

KEEN NUMBER

TODOS SANTOS

SAN MARTIN
ISABELLA

SAN BENITO
CEDROS ISLAND

SAN IGNACIO
MAGDALENA

MCLEAN NUMBER

| Pole

FAMILY TONNIDAE
Malea ringens

FAMILY CASSIDIDAE

Morum tuberculosum

FAMILY FICIDAE

Ficus ventricosa

FAMILY BURSIDAE

Bursa californica

ORDER NEOGASTROPODA

FAMILY MURICIDAE

Muricanthus radix
Muricopsis armatus
Ceratostoma nuttalli |
Pteropurpura erinaceoides

ns trialata
Forreria belcheri
Roperia poulsoni

FAMILY THAIDIDAE

Thais speciosa
" pbiserialis

Acanthina lubugris
Purpura pansa |
Morula ferruginosa

FAMILY BUCCINIDAE

Cantharus elegans
. sanguinolentus
Kelletia kelleti
Macron aethiops
"lividus
Northia pristis
Triumphis subrostrata

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

KEEN NUMBER

MCLEAN NUMBER

FAMILY COLUMBELLIDAE

Columbella aureomexicana
" fuscata
Anachis adelinae
" coronata
flucuata
hannana
Mitrella baccata

FAMILY MELONGENIDAE
Melongena patula
FAMILY NASSARITIDAE

Nassarius bailyi
ap tegula

FAMILY FASCIOLARIIDAE

Fusinus dupetitthouarsi
“ ‘rregularis

FAMILY OLIVIDAE

Oliva incrassata
spicata
Agaronia testacea
Olivella cymatilis
sis biplicata

FAMILY MARGINELLIDAE

Cystiscus jewetti
Granulina margaritula

FAMILY ‘CONIDAE
Conus californicus
" fergusoni

nux
perplexus

TODOS SANTOS
SAN MARTIN

™*

\e)
BH
Re
Zz
ica]
ina)
S
<x
icp)

s
:
$

ISABELLA
SAN BLAS

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

ISABELLA

KEEN NUMBER
TODOS SANTOS

SAN MARTIN
SAN BENITO
CEDROS ISLAND
SAN IGNACIO
MAGDALENA

SAN BLAS

FAMILY TEREBRIDAE

Terebra specillata
si tiarella

FAMILY TURRIDAE

Megasurcula carpenteriana
Pseudomelatoma penicillata

SUBCLASS OPISTHOBRANCHIA
FAMILY PYRAMIDELLIDAE
Odostomia navisa
" aepynota

helga
Turbonilla kelseyi

|
|
|

FAMILY BULLIDAE

Bulla gouldiana

FAMILY SCAPHANDRIDAE
Acteocina inculta
SUBCLASS PULMONATA
FAMILY MELAMPIDAE
Melampus olivaceus
FAMILY SIPHONARIIDAE
Siphonaria maura
FAMILY TRIMUSCULIDAE

Trimusculus reticulatus

160 species gastropods

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No.

KEEN NUMBER

MCLEAN NUMBER

CLASS PELECYPODA

SUBCLASS PTERIOMORPHIA

ORDER ARCOIDA

FAMILY ARCIDAE

Arca pacifica
Barbatia rostae
is: reeveana
" illota
Anadara concinna
" obesa
similis
tuberculosa
bifrons (7)
nux
reinharti
grandis
multicostata
Lunarca brevifrons
Arcopsis solida
Noetia reversa

FAMILY GLYCYMERIDAE
Glycymeris maculata
ORDER MYTILOIDA
FAMILY MYTILIDAE
Mytilus edulis
" _ californianus
Brachidontes semilaevis
Mytella guyanensis
Lithophaga attenuata
bs plumula
Modiolus capax
FAMILY PINNIDAE
Pinna rugosa
ORDER PTERIOIDA
FAMILY PTERIIDAE

Pteria sterna
Pinctada mazatlanica

TODOS SANTOS

x om

4, July, 1983

z
s
:

oO
EH
he
a
fy
FQ
E
wn

i
n
H
n
ie}
ox.
i=)
ea)
O

a
41

ISABELLA

1 bs

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

KEEN NUMBER
MCLEAN NUMBER
TODOS SANTOS.
SAN MARTIN
SAN BENITO
CEDROS ISLAND
SAN IGNACIO
MAGDALENA

ISABELLA
SAN BLAS

FAMILY ISOGNOMONIDAE
Isognomon recognitus

FAMILY OSTREIDAE

Dendostrea mexicana (Sowerby,
1871)
conchaphila
megodon
Saccostrea palmula

FAMILY PECTINIDAE

Pecten vogdesi
Argopecten circularis

a aequisulcatus
Leptopecten camerella

is latiauratus
Lyropecten subnodosus
Hinnites giganteus

FAMILY LIMIDAE

Lima hemphilli
FAMILY ANOMIIDAE

Anomia peruviana
Pododesmus cepio

SUBCLASS HETERODONTA
ORDER VENEROIDA

FAMILY CARDITIDAE

Carditawaifinis iS
" crassicostata

FAMILY CORBICULIDAE

Polymesoda mexicana
FAMILY LUCINIDAE

41.3] Epilucina californica
41.4} Lucinisca nuttalli

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

KEEN NUMBER

292
295

Sit

347

363
364

366
370
378
379

384
385
390

39k

408
413
424
425
426
427
431

MCLEAN NUMBER

i ell

43.2

&
Jp a
= </|c <x
a | —a i es wel
a AGS ek —
<j = Ll fan) (a= ff) w
a Zi & moi <x
= “YO x <j} 4
La CO} er] sai Oo] mn] a
cS =x Al =zaliw#
Snes (= Wee ja Ss =
Cc} < =a} << Ss “| <
=| YD un wt Hl Nn

FAMILY UNGULINIDAE

Diplodonta subquadrata
Felaniella sericata

FAMILY ERYCINIDAE
Lasaea subviridis
FAMILY CHAMIDAE

Chama echinata
“ arcana

FAMILY CARDIIDAE

Trachycardium panamense

Be procerum
quadragenarium
Papyridea aspersa
Trigoniocardia biangulata
Laevicardium elatum

* elenense

FAMILY VENERIDAE

Tivela argentina

" byronensis
planulata
stultorum
Transenella caryonautes

* tantilla (Abbott)
Pitar lupanaria

" concinnus
Megapitaria aurantiaca

i squalida
Dosinia dunkeri

- ponderosa
Cyclinella saccata
Amiantis callosa
Saxidomus nuttalli
Chione californiensis

'" undatella
fluctifraga
amathusia
gnidia
Subrugosa

WwW

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

fa ie SI
oe ) Zlo <
fz) Bl 2lo} ai x =
2 | = Z(/S/B) 21 ols a
S/2/ 21") Ss) 8] | Ele
Z ${| 2] 2/9] 2 <| 4
2 3) =) 8) 8) "| i sree
fx} < a 21a )
tz) =) :
Mm] S12] 3| 2] 4] $] 2) |
467 Protothaca asperrima |
473 - grata |
staminea
laciniata
FAMILY PETRICOLIDAE |
Rupellaria carditoides
Petricola californiensis
480 . parallela |
FAMILY MACTRIDAE |
490 Mactra nasuta
492 "californica
501 Mactrellona exoleta
504 Mulinia pallida
505 Raeta undulata :
Tresus nuttalli
FAMILY TELLINIDAE
509 Tellina carpenteri
" bodegensis '
557 Florimetis cognata |
: obesa
Macoma nasuta |
568 " indentata |
" secta |
574 Strigilla chroma
FAMILY DONACIDAE |
|
584 Donax californicus 4
585 carinatus ,
586 contusus
587 culter
590 gouldii
595 navicula (?)
598 punctatostriatus
601 Iphigenia altior
FAMILY PSAMMOBIIDAE
609 Heterodonax pacificus

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

KEEN NUMBER
MCLEAN NUMBER
TODOS SANTOS
SAN MARTIN
SAN BENITO
CEDROS ISLAND
SAN IGNACIO
MAGDALENA

ISARELLA
SAN BLAS

Sanguinolaria bertini
- nuttalli

FAMILY SOLECURTIDAE

Tagelus affinis
4 californianus

“2 subteres

FAMILY SEMELIDAE

Semele decisa

" flavescens
Cumingia californica
Leptomya ecuadoriana

FAMILY SOLENIDAE

Solen rosaceus

ORDER MYOIDA
FAMILY MYIDAE

Cryptomya californica

FAMILY PHOLADIDAE

Pholas chiloensis
Zirfaea pilsbryi

SUBCLASS ANOMALODESMATA
ORDER PHOLADOMYOIDA
FAMILY PANDORIDAE

Pandora arcuata
FAMILY LYONSIIDAE

Lyonsia californica
FAMILY PERIPLOMATIDAE

Periploma planiusculum .

126 species bivalves

Vol. XIX, No.-4, July, 1963

Hens?

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TEXAS CONCHOL

aioow Aauer Aq 030Ud

*3299J3 GI-ZI UE 461 UT ‘SexelL ‘aqnt9 jo a1ooW Avsuer Aq ‘sexal,

‘pueTs] aipeg yynos ye uTseq paeny yseo) ay. UF PaIIaTTOO sem *EEET SAAQSTHg TAQUTSsoeM eMOYdAD

eo |

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

CYPHOMA MACGINTYI IN TEXAS WATERS By Constance E. Boone

Several years ago Janey Moore of Clute, Texas, came to talk to the
Houston Conchology Society on diving for shells in Texas waters. She
exhibited some fine specimens of Cyphoma she called C. macgintyi, but,
most importantly, she had slides of the living animals she had collected
and kept in her aquarium.

These animals, which you see pictured with this report, seemed to me to
prove that Cyphoma macgintyi does occur in Texas. Most collectors have
thought so, but there has been some confusion in recent literature, and
we know very well that you cannot prove anything about this genus with-
out having proof of the animals.

Cyphomas exhibit variation within the species from different geographical
or habitat areas. Some of our Cyphoma macgintyi, for instance, are shorter
and more calloused when offshore Texas and others from quieter areas at
the jetties seem more oblong, less sturdily built. You find in Cyphoma
gibbosum the same thing in different locations throughout the Caribbean
and Atlantic. There are often different descriptions given concerning

the color and shapes of the shells. Yet you could not mistake live
Cyphoma gibbosum regardless what shape or color of shell. You would know
Cyphoma signatum equally as well from the mantle, not the shell.

Cyphoma macgintyi* was named by H. A. Pilsbry in The Nautilus, Vol. 52
(3), 1939, page 108, with a brief description mentioning that the shell
was long and narrow with a high median ridge and with the back cinnamon-
buff to ivory yellow, the marginal callus white or ivory yellow, with an
oblique fold from the inner lip across the front..... Mantle closely spot-
bed. 8: <. on gorgonian south of Boynton Inlet, Lake Worth, Florida.

Pilsbry and Tom McGinty in The Nautilus, Vol. 53, (1) with Plate 1, 1939,
present excellent photos of the four American Cyphoma known then, and the
animals of three Cyphoma macgintyi are shown. This review, pages 1-4,
discusses the tropical American Cyphoma. C. macgintyi is described more
fully. Here the discussion reveals that the color of the shell is cameo
pink to persian lilac and cameo pink to daphne pink within, with a white
spot in the position of the external ridge..... found on gorgonians. The
living animal was described as nearly white, closely dappled with dresden
brown, or towards the mantle edge sepia spots or in other individuals
nearly black spots. These are round to shortly oval, some oblong. It
differs from C. gibbosum by having solid spots, not rings, on the mantle.
In some individuals a few of the spots have light centers, in others some
spots may coalesce, forming short bars. The respiratory siphon is un-
like that of C. gibbosum by being dark colored, trumpet shaped, much
wider at the end than in C. gibbosum or C. signatum, in which the siphon
is white with a black border at the end, which is not expanded.- The foot
is profusely marked with oblique lines. Large numbers were examined alive.

*Pilsbry named this shell Cyphoma mcgintyi for Thomas L.
McGinty, a well known Florida collector. In American
Seashells, 1974, Abbott changed most, but not all, nomen-
clature involving "mc" names to "mac" names, stating in
several places that it was due to rules or requirements
by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

Footnote continued on page 99

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, So. 4. July, 1963

Fig. 2 Two animals of Cyphoma macgintyi Pilsbry, 1939, collected by
Janey Moore at South Padre Island in 1974 clearly exhibit the dark
spotted animal with dark siphons that are trumpet shaped, as described
by Pilsbry. These animals are on branched gorgonia found on jetties
or on cement walls such as at the Coast Guard basin at South Padre.

Photo bv Janey Moore

Fig. 3 Both these shells of Cyphoma macgintyi were collected in i
approximately 65 feet by diver Janey Moore from the V. A. Fogg site
of wrecked ships some 40 miles off Freeport, Texas. They are thicker
and shorter than those from South Padre.

Photo by Constance E. Bocne
94

Nigh 4 JUle. LISS

Texas CONCEOLOGIST Vol. XIX,

Fig. 4 The largest and smallest of three of the Cyphoma macgintvi
specimens collected in May, 1983, on gorgonia on the jetties at South
Padre Island by Janey Moore are shown. Note the darker color exhibited

On the adult shell. This color was “cinnamon” or darker orange on the

dorsum color zones.

Photo by Constance E. Boone

Ne)
wi

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

Pilsbry and McGinty's paper also referred to Cyphoma intermedium but
said that the authors had not seen Florida or East Coast specimens and
stated that they could not fully clarify this species until the animal
was examined.

To date I have not been able to find a discussion of the animal of
Cyphoma intermedium except a mention that I consider questionable. I
will explain this later on in this report. I also have not too much
reference material concerning the biological facts concerning cyphomas.
I suspect there is still much to learn.

F. M. Bayer named a variety of Cyphoma macgintyi as robustior in The
Nautilus, Vol. 55 (2), 1941, page 45, which was collected by Greek

sponge divers on the West Coast of Florida, "probably Apalachee Bay."

He said this animal had solid brown spots on examining the remains of one
animal and said it was similar to C. macgintyi but broad, thick and

heavy with the transverse dorsal ridge high and very prominent. The
callus was thick and very strong on the right, less on the left of the
shell; the color was white, diffuse light fawn or lavender pink, callus
white.

Several years ago I was sent a sample of cyphomas from South Padre
Island by our HCS members Ken and Margaret Snider (now of Mississippi).
They knew I was interested in determining what the animals were that
Ken was taking by diving in the basin at the Coast Guard Station at
South Padre Island. They sent preserved material, very fresh, and on
examining the animals and referring to the description and photos in
Pilsbry and McGinty'’s report in The Nautilus, 1939, I concluded then

that they were Cyphoma macgintyi.

Recently, Janey Moore made diving trips off the jetties at Port Aransas
and also South Padre Island, seeking more Simnia material for the
Houston Museum of Natural Science to study and also looking for Cyphoma.
She was successful.

On May 29, 1983, Janey collected three Cyphoma macgintyi on Eugorgia
virgulata, the branched soft gorgonian that attaches by a kind of
leathery "foot" to boulders or hard surfaces. The gorgonians were
isolated bunches, she said, and all were the same orangish yellow. I
saw some still in her aquarium when I went to pick up the material for
HMNS. The animals of Cyphoma, however, this time did not survive the
weekend and journey home. She had two juvenile Cyphoma and one adult.
They would have been hard to determine if Janey had not been able to say
that the animals all had the same spotted mantles known as Cyphoma
macgintyi. The smallest one was very thin, somewhat pinkish lavender
at midbody at the columnellar area and with micro-transverse lines dor-
sally overall. The second one was a little more adult, had stronger
coloration areas of purplish tones, some yellow and no longer with the
micro lines. This one has been donated to the wet collection of HMNS.
Janey has kept the adult which has strong yellow and cinnamon colored
areas and buff coloration otherwise. (Pictured).

Janey states that all the Cyphoma macgintyi she has found have been on
the base of the gorgonians rather than on the branches (bottom 3 inches
of the stem).

Janey's collection includes Cyphoma macgintyi she has taken from earlier

trips to Port Isabel. The animals you see pictured were collected in

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

1974 at the Coast Guard boat basin in 12-15 feet. She also collected

C. macgintyi, shorter and stubbier, (BUT WITH THE SAME MANTLE PATTERNS)
from the V. A. Fogg sunken ship area some forty miles off Freeport, Texas
diving in 65 feet. All were taken on branched gorgonia on the upper
surfaces of the boats. The V. A. Fogg was a liquid sulphur boat that
blew up and sank offshore Freeport. It was dynamited to keep it from
being a navigational hazard. Later Liberty ships were towed to the.

area and sunk to make a prime fishing area for sportsmen. Divers find
this a treasure place of marine life.

Janey has not collected Cyphoma intermedium. Through the years I have
been given specimens thought to be this from offshore Texas. No one
knows anything about the animal or habitat, to my knowledge.

— —

for months until they were consumed by a sea anemone." She gave the
range Port Aransas south. She discussed the shell as elongated oval,
with a rounded mid-dorsal ridge and gave the color as cream with blotches
of pale lavender and the interior pale pink.

C. intermedium, in her book, was discussed as a shell that was pale
reddish yellow when fresh and white when dead, with a weak dorsal, or
absent, ridge with the body whorl swollen..... living on gorgonians "with
the colorful patterned mantle wrapped around the shell." Range was
given as Greater Antilles to Brazil, Bermuda and Texas.

Cate's A Systematic Revision of the Recent Cypraeid Family Ovulidae,
supplement to Vol. 15 of The Veliger, January 31, 1973, discussed all
cyphomas I have mentioned so far. He quoted Pilsbry's original des-
cription and then went on to describe a hypotype of Cyphoma macgintyi
where he said that this species had a constant milk-white shell color
with no hints of beige or orange to yellow as seen in similar species.
Cate mentioned that the mantle color pattern consisted of numerous
widely dispersed, fairly small, dark brown punctations upon a very pale
ivory, almost colorless mantle membrane. The photos, 150 and 150a,
show the typical spotted mantles like those pictured by Pilsbry and
McGinty.

Cate proposed Pseudocyphoma as a new genus and assigned intermedium to
it. He discussed the shell as pale fulvous, ovate-oblong and somewhat
accuminate at both ends..... with transverse raised rounded angle rather
above the middle. The location of the type was unknown to him. He pro-
vided the original illustration from Sowerby I and figured a hypotype.
He limited distribution to the general type locality of Monte Cristi
Beach, NW Dominican Republic, West Indies.

Also in this supplement Cate named Aperiovula abbotti on the basis of

a Cyphoma Abbott had collected on the beach at Mustang Island, Texas.

I know absolutely nothing more about this species at this time. The
type is at ANSP. Cate described it, pictured it, and gave as distribu-
tion S. Padre Island, deep water off the SE coast of Texas. It is
supposed to have a golden line above the adapical terminal beak. It
looks like a juvenile shell, but I cannot know.

Abbott in his American Seashells, 1974, listed Texas in his distribution

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

for Cyphoma macgintyi and did not for Cyphoma (Pseudocyphoma)
intermedium. He does not list Aperiovula abbotti at all.

intermedium, using, I believe, the same photos used for her Cyphoma
macgintyi in the 1971 book. She states that she had described this as
C. macgintyi in 1971 but was correcting to C. intermedium. She does not
list C. macgintyi as occurring in Texas waters in the 1977 book. Her
description for C. intermedium adopts some of Cate's words, for instance
"diamond shaped" for the shell, and she says the shell is white, glossy,
ovate, oblong..... rare in Port Aransas. She states that the species was
washed up alive on the beach with the colorful, maculated animal envel-
oping the shell following a severe freeze in January, 1962, lived in
aquarium for several months until consumed by an anemone." She said
less humped specimens are found in spoil banks along the ship channel

and referred us to Cate, 1973.

I do not know what shell she used for the photos. I do not know if it
was the shell that lived in the aquarium for months and had the spotted
mantle. This would be the first time any animal description for C.
intermedium is published, I believe, but we have to consider that this
description was first used by Andrews in 1971 to describe C. macgintyi
and that that description fits C. macgintyi.

We can only solve the problems by knowing more about the animals of
all cyphomas in Texas, and elsewhere.

At this point, I do say we have Cyphoma macgintyi in Texas waters. We
have a second Cyphoma we call C. intermedium.

Shoring up my investigations is one more bit of evidence---important, I
think.

Knowing that I have been interested in this problem of Cyphoma in Texas,
Dr. Harold H. Harry showed up one day with a gift for me. It is an en-
largement of the anterior end of an unnamed Cyphoma which I could deter-
mine was C. macgintyi because it clearly shows the solid spots on the
mantle and because it has an enlarged dark trumpet-shaped respiratory
siphon, as discussed in Pilsbry's original description. The photo was
taken by a student of Harry's who had collected two of the animals feed-

ing on gorgonia at Port Isabel, Texas, some years ago.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

*Abbott lists this shell as Cyphoma macgintyi. Emerson
and Jacobson's American Museum of Natural History Guide

1981. Popular names include 'McGinty's Cyphoma" and
"McGinty's Flamingo Tongue" in these publications.

Clarification requested from Dr. Harold Vokes, professor
emeritus of the Geology Department of Tulane University

and until recently a member of the commission for the
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, resulted

in receipt of pertinent information from the 1964 publi-
cation of the ICZN adopted by the XV International Congress
of Zoology. Appendices to the Code outlined a Code of Ethics
as a guide to good usage in nomenclature. Clearly stated is
"They (appendices) do not have the force of rules, which are
mandatory and are confined to Articles 1 to 87 of the Code
proper, but rather have the same status as recommendations
in the Code." Articles 32 and 33 are concerned with ori-
ginal spelling and subsequent spelling and are mandatory
rules. They would not allow emendation of Pilsbry's ori-
ginal spelling unless a new rule since 1964 has been devised.
Dr. Vokes has not found a rule concerning this problem, to
1974 at least.

The Appendices include under Part 21 of Appendix A the
following: ''Personal names bearing prefixes should be
treated as follows in forming zoological names:
(4) “the prefizes: “mac;” “ne, or “m" should be
spelled "mac'' and united, as in maccooki (McCook),
maccoyi (M'Coy)."

This recommendation would apply, apparently, to new names.
The recommendation, however, is being followed currently

by many professionals for all names, including older names
involving "mc" or "m'." Vokes will use C. macgintyi in

an upcoming publication since he refers to Abbott's American
Seashells in range and description discussion. Dr. R.
Tucker Abbott (personal communication) states this is done
for conformity and makes good sense. We note that as early
as 1938 a specific name honoring Tom McGinty was spelled
"mac."" M. Smith named Murex macgintyi in Nautilus 51 (3),
pg. 88.

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

MOLLUSCS AS ENDOTOXIN INDICATORS
DEBBIE McCAIN
404 EDGEWATER DRIVE
RICHWOOD, TEXAS

ABSTRACT

The Horseshoe Crab (Limulus) has been found to possess -D- Lactate
Dehydrogense in its amoebocytes. These amoebocytes have been used as
indicators for endotoxins. In this experiment I have used the common
Marine Clam and the Moonsnail, both of which also contain -D- Lactate
Dehydrogense in their blood, along with the Horseshoe Crab -as a control-
to test for endotoxins to see if they can be used in conjunction with, or
as a substitute for the Horseshoe Crab.

My dat proved the -D- Lactate Dehydrogense in the Clam to be effective
as a endotoxin indicator. The blood from the Moonsnail was inactive,
possibly due to the small amount collected and tested. The Horseshoe
Crab (the control) also tested positive. Therefore, the Clam could be
used with the Horseshoe Crab to detect endotoxins, thereby possibly redu-
cing cost and time and increasing supply of endotoxin indicators.

Editor's note: Debbie is the granddaughter of our member, Mildred Tate
of Lake Jackson, Texas. Awards received March 19, 1983 at the Science
Engineering Fair of Houston by Debbie include:

1. Houston District Society for Medical Technology-
Honorable mention in Medical Technology

2. Marine Technology Society/U. S. Naval Institute-
Certificate of outstanding achievement

3. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston-
Summer research fellowship alternate for
outstanding performance

4. Texas A & M University at Galveston Summer School at Sea-

Ten week cruise aboard the T/S Texas Clipper
training ship of Texas A & M University.

She will be able to earn six hours of college

credit while traveling to New Orleans, Louisiana;
Norfolk, Virginia; Boston, Massachusetts; St. Martin,
Netherlands Antilles; La Guaira, Venezuela; Vera Cruz,
Mexico.

Debbie will attend Texas A & M University this fall.

100

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. X1X, No. 4, July, 1983

BOOK REVIEW By J. H. Keeler

SEA SHELLS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA by Richard Kilburn and Elizabeth Rippey, 1982,

McMillan South Africa Ltd., Johannesburg, South Africa, Publishers. 249 pages,
46 color plates, 230 text figures, price $49.95.

This is a welcome addition to the growing group of excellent regional books
for the shell collector, student, and research worker. It certainly goes
beyond the "introductory manual" need cited by the authors.

The region of Southern Africa covered extends from the Kunene River at the
Northern Namibia border on the west, around the Cape to the Zululand-
Mozambique border on the east. Coverage is generally restricted to "species
that may be found (living or dead) on the shore, the only exception being

a selection of deep-water molluscs that are of particular interest to col-
lectors". About 600 of the estimated 1500 littoral molluscan fauna of
Southern Africa are treated. Omitted are mostly "scarce, obscure, minute,

or shell-less" species.

The section The Southern African region and its molluscs discusses the influ-
ence of the major ocean currents, the littoral region and its zones, and the
four maritime provinces. Each province is described, characterized and its
significant molluscan fauna listed. A full-page colorcoded map further
clarifies this discussion.

by even the very experienced collector. An unusual section Pioneer shell
collectors in Southern Africa provides an interesting and informative insight
into the past progress and problems in the hobby.

The artistic illustrations by Elizabeth Rippev are excellent. Two or more
views are given for many gastropods and their color or form variations.
For bivalves, internal and external views are usually given, supplemented
by detailed line drawings of hinge and tooth arrangements.

The text presentations of the shells are in taxonomic order. Each species
treated is described; its range given; and is discussed in one or more para-
graphs entitled Notes. These Notes may contain comments on the mollusc's
habitat, its egg capsules, its camouflage, its eating habits, its rarity,
comparisons with similar species, possible taxonomic problems, and even
catch limitations and use as a food.

There are four appendices: Taxonomic Notes - elaborating on nomenclatural
or taxonomic innovation; Scientific names and the beginner, explaining the
desirability of the scientific names; Bibliography providing an excellent
list of references, and Glossary of scientific terms, providing a guide to
biological, ecological, geographical, and other terms.

For all the good features of this volume, there are negatives. For one -
size, 9 1/8 x 11 3/4 inches. The almost 12-inch height of this book,
taller than American Seashells or Monographs of Marine Mollusca makes it
awkward to store with other shell texts.

The major negative is the omission or very limited treatment of major
(although minute) families - turrids, marginellids, epitoniids, rissoids,

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

and pyramidellids as examples.

On balance, this book is a worthwhile addition to one's library not only
for the information on Southern African shells but for the overall shell-
related information.

(This book is in our HCS library.)

REKKKKKAKKEEK

LITERATURE NOTES By Constance Boone

One of the Coral Reef Papers in a recent Bulletin of Marine Science (33(2),
pages 305-335, 1983) by Virginia 0. Maes of the Department of Malacology,
Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is of interest to anyone in-
terested in Turridae.

Titled "Observations on the Systematics and Biology of a Turrid Gastropod
Assemblage in the British Virgin Islands," this report discusses eight
species of turrids, giving their systematic positions and partial syn-
onymies, discusses soft parts, and feeding habits and points out that often
turrids cannot be determined in systematic positions unless the animals,
their habits and feeding are known and studied. Even though some have simi-
lar shells they were found to be different on examination of anatomical
features. Then there are reasons for animal internal differences - sometimes
solved by learning feeding habits. This article is accompanied by fine
plates of shells and their protoconchs.

In view of Odé's paper on taxonomy in this issue in which he often refers
to the writings of Stephen Jay Gould, and in view of the fine essays Gould
does produce that you should read, we urge you to read Opus 100 entitled
"This View of Life" by Gould in the April, 1983 (Vol. 92 (No. 4), pages
10-21) issue of Natural History.

This essay describes Gould's personal research on Cerion, "the peanut land
snail", in the Bahamas. According to Gould, this is the first essay he has
written about the biological subject closest to him. It is his 100th column,
and you will indulge him as you enjoy his story of his work to study this
land snail in great depth to just know all that he could about Cerion. Its
diverse forms have confused biologists for years. New field studies coupled
with genetic studies continue to enlarge the picture of Cerion.

* |

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TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

SOME REFLECTIONS ON TAXONOMY By Helmer Odé

During the last few years I have been engaged in a study of the taxonomy of
pyramidellid mollusca. It may be interesting to make a few comments upon
some of the more noteworthy facts that I have discovered. My remarks will
not be of a technical nature--at this place that would only be tedious, but
I hope they rather will have some general interest.

From this rather continued effort of collecting all possible information

_ about this most interesting group of animals I have come to one main con-
clusion which I can best present by quoting a similar opinion. Stephen Jay
Gould, one of America's foremost biologists and authors, published in a
bundle of essays, "Ever Since Darwin," a short essay entitled "Why We Should
Not Name Human Races, A Biological View."' I refer to this essay here not
only because it is pleasant to read opinions of others which conform closely
to my own prejudices, especially when they are better expressed and more
clearly stated than I could have done myself, but also because the reading
of Gould's essay suddenly made clear to me what I had felt a long time about
mollusc taxonomy.

In his essay Gould mentions a monograph of the Hawaiian tree snail, Achatinella

apexfulva, in which the author has described seventy-eight formal subspecies.
On top of that number were added sixty additional "microgeographic races."
Each of these units of subdivision was named and formally described with the
result "an almost unreadable tome that buries one of the most interesting
phenomena of evolutionary biology under an impenetrable thicket of names

and static descriptions" (quoted from Gould).

How true! This is precisely the feeling I have acquired concerning pyramid-
ellid taxonomy. This group of mollusca boasts a respectable age: at least
Since the Cretaceous they have been living and thus one might object that
whatever case I will make it will not be comparable to that of Achatinella.
But that is merely a question of scale. Literally thousands of taxa have
been defined (well over 6,000) and the animals or rather their shells, have
been baptized, classified, photographed, renamed, regrouped and what not,
but hardly anything worthwhile is known about them. Neither their internal
relationship or those to other groups (Actaeonidae, Fossaridae, Vitrinellidae)
nor their distant past, nor even their present status is understood. It was
only about 50-40 years ago that the ectoparasitic mode of life of some

of these gastropods became proven and some data about their biology got
established. Consequently they jumped in the general scheme of classifi-
cation from the Mesogastropoda to the Opisthobranchia, but some workers
would like to put them under a grouping named Entomotaeniata.

There are many problems such as: are all Pyramidellidae ectoparasites; do
they all possess a similar anatomy; are the plicae on the columella and

the suberostrophic nucleus truly characteristic? Some other problems con-
cern the status of some genera at present placed in families having no ties
whatsoever with pyramidellids.

In his essay Gould asks the question "Shall our approach to such variation
Be that of a cataloguer..... Would it not be better to map this variability
objectively without imposing upon it the subjective criteria for formal
subspecies?" The relative intense effort by me to solve some of the taxo-
nomic problems concerning the pyramidellids convinced me once and for all
that the answer to Gould's first question is NO! And that to the second
is YES. But I am prepared to make some concessions to those that love to
create new labels. After all, I am convinced in spite of an enormous

PCS

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

duplication of names there are still undescribed species to be found. The
labelling of new biological "species" is only sensible if other studies of
greater biological interest are undertaken at the same time.

Gould's second question can be immediately applied to much larger groups
than a single recent species of land snail, and sampled over much longer
time than the present. And thus it is my impression that the sometimes
frantic labelling and creation of new taxa without a solid knowledge about
the facts and pertinent data upon which these taxa should be based is a
hindrance to the progress of science. As an example I may cite the enor-
mous number of names for such European species as Turbonilla lactea Linne
and Pyrgulina indistincta Montague. As far as I know, little is known
about their biology, their ranges of variation, their hosts; it may be that
both will turn out to be groups of related but separate species. But that
I believe unlikely. It is quite certain that the evidence of the exo-
skeleton only of these animals will not solve the problems and still today
new names are being added to their synonymies. To straighten out what I
unreservedly may call "a mess'' will require much effort and museum work

of comparison.

The reasons for this, in my opinion, unsatisfactory status of mollusk
taxonomy can undoubtedly be pinpointed.

Not so long ago I commented in these pages upon a fact that struck me sud-
denly after discovering in the library of the Houston Museum of Natural
Science a book with a dedication to Darwin written in Latin on the front
page. In the malacological literature of the years 1860-1890 one hears
hardly an echo of the Darwinian struggles and although the trivial names
jeffreysi, dunkeri, etc., are often given, the name darwini (only one among
pyramidellids) is given to indicate the North Australian town.

I have the feeling that Jeffreys and Dunker (who wrote the dedication in

the book I referred to above), both leading malacologists in Western Europe,
were basically cataloguers. However, during their working years deep dredg-
ing operations became possible and improved steam engines made travel to
previously hard to reach places fairly convenient. The flood of new data
and material required that some of the fundamental biological work had to

be postponed. However the result of this is that most of their work
essentially is dull. It is true that in some of that work more interesting
topics were discussed such as faunal provinces. The difference between the
Mediterranean and Red Sea, for instance, attracted attention from the start.

But most authors did not follow the example of Darwin. He worked long and
arduously on the biology of barnacles before he wrote about their taxonomy,
and as a gesture of esteem for his work on these animals Dunker sent him
his book with the dedication we have discussed.

The description of most molluscs of those days and also today is restricted
mostly to the exoskeleton, at least for marine molluscs. Many species have
even been defined on the basis of a single, sometimes incomplete, specimen:

In many respects the last work by Bartsch (1955) on a Pliocene molluse fauna
of Florida is a classic example of the unrestrained creation of unnecessary
taxa. Curiously enough it also contains a biologically superficial account
of two cases of hybridization, one between races of the land snail Cerion
and the other between turbonillas. This effort by Bartsch throws an unex-
pected light on human nature: suddenly Bartsch becomes aware of a large
amplitude of variarion within a species, but instead of splitting his
material up in a number of species and varieties as is his custom he seeks

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TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

another solution. To accept a large amplitude of variation is impossible

and therefore a somewhat exotic solution of species hybridization is chosen.
Bartsch’ so called hybrid Striopyrgus constitutes a valid species that also
has been collected elsewhere and ironically may be one of the few truly new

species in that publication:

The patient enumeration of all pyramidellid taxa has disclosed another fact,
namely, the large variability of many of them. Some of these variable

species have received many different names, often called "varieties" whatever
the meaning of such a category may be. Today authors still describe varieties
and forms with Latin names and formal descriptions.

Thus the variable nature of pyramidellid species is quite obvious, and the
question is justified: What does that mean? To answer that question let

us consider another of Gould's essays: ‘'The Pace of Change," which is essay
17 in the "Panda's Thumb," another collection of essays on evolutionary
biology.

According to biologists the average duration of an invertebrate species may
be of the order of 5-10 million years. This may appear a quite sweeping
statement and if tested against the present opinions concerning pyramidellids
as expressed in the literature quite unlikely to be true. What can one infer
from the data? There is a relatively small number of species that has a

much longer span: some lived from the middle Eocene into the Oligocene and
others from the Miocene into the recent. Such species probably lived longer
than 25 million years. Very many species are only known from the recent.

Did they recently arise or is their record imcomplete? Also there are several
species that have been reported from the Pleistocene only; for both these
categories one can not claim an "age" of 5-10 million years. I suspect that
many of such short term species are not good species but merely "variations"
of some other related species. What happens when a species dies out? The
record shows that quite often it is replaced by one or more quite comparable
but clearly different species. What happens is briefly this: a species,
possibly not a single but several, arises out of the genetic instability of
an older one, gropes during a relatively short time of its existence for a
stable form but finally settles down to a long uneventful stable life during
which only normal phenotypic variations are produced. Only when old age of
the species (not the individual) is reached, instability and thus change can
occur, resulting possibly in new species.

Now this is an interesting model which would in theory enable us to define
a species more clearly. If true it has some quite unexpected consequences;
namely, if we could follow for some Cambrian organism, one would see the
rate of change of the lineage being accelerated during short intervals of
time between. The amazing thing is this: because the Cambrian explosion
of species took place about 600 million years ago and assuming 5 million
years for the average age of a species such a lineage consists only of 120
species: And, if the multicellular average species life were taken at 10
million years the number of species is only 60. This implies that each
rapid change must have bridged a large change.

Darwin, being a disciple of Lyell, emphasized the slow and continuous change
in evolution, the same as Lyell did for geological processes. In other
sciences the emphasis also was on the continuous: mathematics with calculus
and mechanics with its continuous motion described by analytic functions.
Only in this century other ideas would come to general attention. It must
be stated here that Huxley pointed out to Darwin the dangers of the strict
assumption of uniferm slow continuous change in evolution.

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TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

It appears now quite likely that this rate of change has been less uniform
than Darwin and his followers argued. There is a whole group of interesting
problems waiting for the taxonomist to solve: to recognize which species
among gastropods and the pyramidellids in particular are in a "senile" stage
and which are merely producing normal phenotypic variations, of course
assuming that our model of evolution is valid. A second question is whether
molluscs in general had speciation periods of 5-10 million years. Or is it
possible that parasitic organisms such as pyramidellids vary at a more rapid
rate? Does the record confirm that such "senile" variations leading to new
species arise as a rule at the end of 5 million years or do several arise in
the course of the species life? Do such variations arise as a rule on small
specialized populations living in environments subject to change (for instance,
climate)? To answer these questions is, I think - and I am prejudiced - more
interesting than more purely descriptive taxonomic work.

How the pyramidellids arose is not well known. At the end of the Cretaceous
there were definitely a number of species widely dispersed over the globe,
some of which already carry the same generic designation as the recent ones.
The correctness of those generic names is doubtful in my opinion. Reports
of much older species concern material I would not classify as pyramidellid
although it could be related.

What happened at the end of the Cretaceous is unclear. The mass extinction
of many groups of animals also wiped out some of the Cretaceous pyramidellids.
This extinction is nowadays usually ascribed to some cosmic catastrophe, such
as radiation damage caused by the explosion of a nearby star, or of the earth,
with a cosmic projectile such as a comet.

As far as the pyramidellids are concerned, a break is clearly indicated
because almost all early Eocene genera appear to be new, yet the pyramidellid
fauna is definitely not yet modern. It is a point of interest to note that
some widely divergent Eocene faunas, such as those of the Paris Basin and
those of Java, have very similar species content. The truly recent forms
among pyramidellids arose in the Miocene, that is about a "duration of 4-5
species" ago. In that respect the lineages that Sacco, an Italian paleon-
tologist who worked on Tertiary faunas of the Piedmont, drew at the end of
last century, may have some significance, but his number of species may be

on the high side.

This brings me to another one of Gould's essays, No. 20 in the "Panda's
Thumb," entitled "A Quahog is a Quahog," in which Gould discusses some
taxonomies of primitive people. He starts out by mentioning a fundamental
difference in which people tend to view science. On the one hand there is
the view of Huxley who defined science as organized common sense. Diametri-
cally opposed to such a view is the one science must probe behind a facade
and find the "true" meaning of things. It is not surprising that Lyell who
had to probe behind the facade of nature's catastrophies in order to come
up with his theory of uniformitarianism was one of his adherents. This
briefly stated means that geologic processes that operated in the past are
those that still operate today and that their results are slow and gradual
(See also "Uniformity and Catastrophe" in "Ever Since Darwin" by Gould).
Unfortunately the latter point of view has become, through the somewhat
abstract results of modern physics by such esoteric disciplines as rela-
tivity, quantum physics and particle theory, widely fashionable. It is to
be regretted that physical scientists, supposedly properly brought up, in
their aversion for metaphysical speculation are writing the most blatant
metaphysics when dealing with some implications of modern astronomy.

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TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

But enough of my own prejudices which are all aligned on the side of Huxley
and Lagrange. It is the latter who said of mathematics: if you understand
it you can explain it to the first man you meet in the street! Gould cites
two examples where primitive people used a scheme of names for species which
are in both instances almost in a one to one relation with modern Linnean
use. It is true that these names were given to either plants or animals
which were important to them. As an aside I may now invert the argument

and argue that the lack of a consistent set of popular names (not those
artificially created later by some authors as translations of scientific
names) indicates that shells were never of economic importance to our an-
eestors. Otherwise a consistent set would have arisen naturally, because
all people bv nature are endowed with a remarkable amount of common sense.
This. makes it possible to recognize variability in a single species as
opposed to the variability between species within a genus. It is only when
the naming of biological entities becomes an end in itself that it loses
its connection with reality and people may ask for the deeper meaning behind
a facade of imposing scientific volumes. And then there is no deeper meaning
than that one species has 16 costae on the penultimate whorl and another 20.

Finally, I will comment upon some other facets of taxonomic work with mollusks.
One of these is particularly annoying; namely, the quite often scandalously
poor way of reporting references. Of course, there are authors that are
exemplary in that respect, but, in general, references have received poor care
and there is a general disrespect for quoting precisely. I have Xeroxed many
bibliographies and compared quoted titles. One finds, for instance, with one
author: Catalogue des coquilles fossiles etc., and with another: Catalogue
des fossils etc. Also dates are often contradictory. Now it is not always
possible to quote these correctly because the printed year in a book is not
always the year of publication, especially in older works. However, even
fairly recent publications are reported by various authors at various years.
A further source of confusion is often page, volume and plate numbers, which
sometimes are quoted wrong by an entire sequence of authors. This points to
a somewhat deceptive practice of which the late Dr. Stenzel used to say that
it not only bordered on dishonesty but that it was dishonest to quote refer-
ences without personally having verified them.

There are some nomenclatorial problems which are particularly vexing in the
pyramidellids. When Dall and Bartsch started to write their joint papers

they adapted to the somewhat hardheaded attitude of Jeffreys who named

almost any pyramidellid generically Odostomia. Dall and Bartsch almost
grudgingly also allowed Turbonilla but subdivided both Odostomia and Turbonilla
in a very large number of subgenera. The result of that reshuffle was the
creation of a large number of preoccupations, because all the poorly defined |
A. Adams and de Folin genera became part of Odostomia and Turbonilla

Bartsch coined most of these new names. If, as I believe, many of the Adams |
and de Folin genera will be recognized as such,most of the Dall and Bartsch |
relabelling will be proven unnecessary and their names must be discarded.

It has long been a puzzle to me why such obvious differences as there exist
between small shells of Dall and Bartsch's Odostomia could not be generically
recognized. After all, if these shells had been three inches large instead

of three mm. there would have been no doubt that they would have been classi-
fied in different genera. This shows the very subjective methods operating
in mollusk classification.

Finally, I may mention another difficulty about taxonomy to which Gould

refers somewhat obliquely in his essay "Nature's Odd Couples." At the very
end Gould writes "This exchange highlights a disturbing issue in the trans-
mission of news about science to the public.'' Gould refers here to the fact

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TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

that in general the media report only the highly colored initial phases
of some interesting discovery or controversy but that they neglect to
follow up because it is no longer newsworthy. It is exactly the same
with taxonomic news although that type of information is put out for
taxonomists. The follow up of taxonomic corrections is slow. The
reasons for this are easily understood when one considers human nature.
For instance, in the U. S. A. some of the changes the French worker
Cossmann proposed remained largely unknown, firstly because Bartsch
developed a somewhat proprietary attitude towards the group and sec-
ondly because Cossmann had the perhaps somewhat objectionable habit

to publish his changes or corrections in footnotes at the bottom of

a page of in-difficult-to-obtain journals. In these matters also,
feelings of national pride play a role. I remember quite well how a
compatriot of mine was very upset that a small Hydrobia went by the
name invented by an Englishman instead of an earlier--but for some
reason considered invalid--name invented by a Dutchman. Perhaps the
fabric of taxonomy for that reason (and the others touched upon here)
is richer and more colorful than it otherwise would have been.

References:

Ever Since Darwin, Reflections in Natural History, by Stephen Jay
Gould, 285 pages. W. W. Norton and Co., New York, London, 1977

The Panda's Thumb, More Reflections in Natural History, by
Stephen Jay Gould, 343 pages. W. W. Norton and Co., New York,
London, 1980

KKKKKKKKKEKK
OLE! SAN JOSE! By Helen Eberspacher

The Conchology Group of the Outdoor Nature Club went to Port Aransas and
San Jose Island over the weekend of April 9, hoping to find the elusive
Purple Snails but we were disappointed again. However, on San Jose Island
(formerly St. Joseph Island) we had wonderful luck finding shells we had
never found there before. There was a drift line several feet wide in many
places and several inches thick, and that is where we had our best finds:
lots of Scotch Bonnets (including one albino); many small Atlantic Partridge
Tuns averaging about 1% inches and one large Tun that was three to four
inches long; several Mitchell's Wentletraps and at least one Angulate
Wentletrap; one Atlantic Distorsio; many, many large Pen Shells; lots of
double Incongruous Arks, double Disks, small double Greatheart Cockles;
quite a few double Tellins, including some pink ones; some red and yellow
sea whip with Simnias; also some Moon Snails, Baby Ears and Olives.

Later, some of us went to a little beach along the channel near the Ferry
landing on the Port Aransas side and found a few Apple Murexes, about a
dozen small, beautifully colored Lightning Whelks (all with Hermit Crabs),
one Angulate Wentletrap and a couple of very old Tulips. As usual at this
spot, there were hundreds of small auger type and button (Modulus) type
shells.

(Editor's note - I believe the small tun shells should be young Tonna galea.
I note the "auger type" shells refer to dead Cerithium species we no longer
collect alive on Texas shores. Nor do we find Modulus on shore alive al-
though diver Janey Moore has taken Modulus alive from offshore.)

108

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

SEARCH AND SEIZURE BY CONSTANCE BOONE

This is my 54th Search and Seizure column, and this issue completes the
19th volume of Texas Conchologist. You might like to know something of the
history of both.

Texas Conchologist began as the club newsletter with Liz Eubanks as editor
and Helmer Odé as associate editor in September, 1964 with No. 1 of Vol. l.
There were to be nine issues for the monthly meetings, but from the first
several numbers were included in one issue sometimes. The Editor was to

be elected annually, but it was immediately clear that the problem was to
keep an editor, not elect one. The quality was high from the beginning, in
my opinion. Notes on collecting on Texas beaches were of primary importance.
Dr. W. W. Sutow was very involved in producing and writing for the journal.
Odé and Anne B. Speers started "Notes Concerning Texas Beach Shells" with

a good list of references. Through Dr. Sutow'’s connections, we printed

the journal at M. D. Anderson's print shop. We had members type it at first,
according to offset instructions, then finally used a typist we paid at the
print shop. I joined the club in 1965 and also started working with Odé and
Harold Geis on the Northwest Mollusk Population Survey. Much of what I
learned about mollusks came from this latter association, although I had

been a sheller with my family for some 10 years before that.

As an exnewspaper reporter and a dabbler (through the years of raising a
family) in writing feature stories, etc., doing local newsstories and
serving in reporter volunteer jobs for nonprofit organizations, I really
never lost my love of printer's ink. It soon became evident that I would
go to Geis’ house to work on shells and that I would bring in shells I had
found on beach trips and report these to Helmer. Of course, I wanted him
to identify them for me, but I think I also wanted him to report this in
Texas Conchologist. By then he was Editor. Liz Eubanks left Houston in
the summer of 1965, and Vol. II started in August, 1965, with Odé as editor.

It was not long before Odé was saying to me when I brought in something to
discuss: "Write it up!" Now I started with short collecting notes and also
with some biographies of Texas collectors. Later I became involved in the
circulation and in delivering copy to the printer, handling film to be used,
and anything else that needed to be done to help get out the journal.

My first Search and Seizure was in Vol. VIII, No. 1, August, 1971 and con-
cerned Dr. J. P. E. Morrison's paper on "Western Atlantic Donax" published

in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (Vol. 83, #48,
Feb., 1971),

It was a half page article reporting this paper, and my title was born in
my mind based on what I wanted to do in my writing and also because of
family occupation. My husband is a lawyer and was at that time a special
agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I heard "search and seizure"
often in my home. Legally it has standing as the right to enter, search,
and seize evidence for use in cases. My news reporter background where I
did also write headlines and devise titles for stories led me to use this
for my role in collecting and studying mollusks for "evidence" in advancing
knowledge for me, my readers and the science of malacology, hopefully.

Search and Seizure was not continuous at first. My columns did continue

109

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

fairly regularly, however, as I reported on shelling trips to Cedar Keys,
South Padre, Bolivar, Galveston after Hurricane Fern, finding Umbraculum at
night at Panama (Pacific), and other journeys of mine and of other members.
From the first I wanted to report anyone's collection, and I still want to
do this.

Vol. IX of the Texas Conchologist was quarterly. We had separate notes
for the meeting. The printer rebelled at the large amount of copy quar-
terly, and we returned to nine issues for Vol. X for one year only.
However, with Vol. IX Search and Seizure became a permanent fixture of TC.

We were told we had to find a new printer at the end of Vol. X,and I was
very much involved in putting out the journal with Odé, as was Sam Miron
as circulation chairman. We found a printer who wasn't the most reliable,
but he did help put out our quarterly and eventually found us a typist we
paid. Sometimes the journal was very late; sometimes we wept over the
printing, but most of all we were proud of our efforts.

In 1974 Odé informed us he would no longer be editor but would continue to
write for TC. William Keeler took the helm, and I continued to write

Search and Seizure and other articles. In 1977 before the final quarterly
issue of Vol. XIII Bill Keeler resigned and Helmer and I put out the issue
reporting the "Wonderful World of Shells'' held for two weeks in May 1977,

at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Helmer agreed to be Editor again.
We needed him.

I have been editor for the last five volumes. Herschel Sands, a member then,

did the typing, and we made format changes such as the blue covers and intro-

duced our logo. We've now had three more printers and several typists and
Ruby McConnell did the recent bivalve index of Odé's monograph. We begin
Vol. XX in the Fall.

Search and Seizure continues.

HOWEVER, it must be evident to you that Texas Conchologist must have more

membership effort to continue going on for many years. Dr. Sutow is deceased

Helmer has retired from Shell and moved to Austin although I continue to

count on him to write for TC and will "badger" him to do so, and I have been
involved with TC since my first little note written on summer shelling ideas

published in Vol. II, No. 9, May, 1966.

I appreciate articles sent to me. I am very proud to publish articles
sent to me by professionals. I am thankful for the few articles offered me

by members who hear my appeals. (Jim Keeler produced the book review in this

issue and said he felt like a schoolboy who had to have a paper ready for
class since I demanded copy one day for 2 days later!) I am happy to have
Emily Oakes involved in typing at present. She is renting a typewriter to
do this issue.

The trials and tribulations of being editor or working on "dummying" the
issues could go on infinitum. For instance, the last issue caused both
Emily and me many problems. Emily used three typewriters to finish the
issue, one that had type that was so easily erased that some copy barely
made it into print. The club does not own the kind of executive typewriter

we need to make TC look like we want it to. We are limited in funds overall.

My printer had a breakdown in machinery. After some delay, I finally went

110

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

to pick up the copies just a few days before the end of the quarterly month
and complainec about the trimming of the covers. Some were extremely uneven.
However, when I looked through a copy I picked up I was horrified to see that
two pictures were switched. That's whv vou saw two sets of staples in your
issues and why some copy seemed different. Thev had to redo the issues

and replace some covers. We finally did get it to vou. Grytch Williams
continues to do a good job of circulating the issues and can help anv of

you with missed issues, sell you back issues or volumes, etc. If you don't
own a full set of TC, you should!

So if someone is willing to learn, willing to jump in this business of TC,
do call this editor. Do vou want TC to continue? You might write letters
to the editor and let us know what vou want to de and what vou suggest we

do.

I see a great many newsletters from other clubs. I do see some clubs

which have members who tackle information on a certain species or a genus

or even a family of mollusks and work up articles for their newsletters.

We do have some of this; we could use more. Even reporting new species from
the journals would be interesting, I think. It is difficult to keep up with
them as descriptions appear in so many different publications. If vou like
Murex, write about one of the new ones you have acquired, perhaps. We can
use book reviews. We'd be happy to have you think about a column on members
again or one on exchanges, etc. I've now had my sav; you now must act.

And for this issue then, Search and Seizure continues on its way here with
some current reporting:

Dr. T. E. Pulley returned in late May from a brief stay at Playa Carmen, the
sleepy little ferry town on the mainland across from Cozumel Island, Quintana
Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, with a collection of thirteen "albinistic"
Hastula maryleeae. He collected these in the sandy surf zone near the ferry
landing. Although the range is known to extend that far, I have never col-
lected any in several trips to several islands and mainland areas of that
Yucatan area. Dr. Pulley had this material in alcohol. It is coincidental
that the next week I received a call from Dr. Harry Lee of Jacksonville,
Florida, seeking some of this species in alcohol for studies on Hastula.

Dr. Pulley has shared four for the SEM and radula studies Dr. Lee will pro-
mote. We wiil keep you advised.

Also the last week of May, Janey Moore of Clute, Texas, called to say she

had cyphomas and simnias for our study at Houston Museum of Natural Science.
You will hear more about the simnias in a future issue. We also appeal to
other divers to bring in material from the Gulf of Mexico, or Caribbean,
with specific Gorgonians on which each species is coliected. We also need
underwater photos of the animals or photos of the animals with the specific
Gorgonian taken in aquaria. Call me if you can help in this study so we can
tell you exactly what we want to study and how we need the material.

On Monday, May 6th I went to Clute to pick up Janey's material. After making
some photos, taking notes, etc., Janey asked if I was interested in going to

Surfside jetty to check out if Brachidontes domingensis and Isognomon alatus

(reported in SS in Vol.XIX, No. 3, April, 1983) could still be retrieved.

Yes, we did find both species, at low tide in the crevices of the granite
boulders, about halfway out the jetty, on the channel side. These are sma i
and distorted because they live among the stunted Crassostrea virginica and
Permacles. It is hard to be sure we do have I. alatus, but Dr. T. E. Pulley

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

assures us that we do. However, on this trip I spent time scraping through
the algae on the flat rocks near the water and running my hands down the
side of the boulders to the water to see if I could find other mollusks. I
only found Littorina lineolata and oysters and some Siphonarias, except for
one tiny juvenile Isognomon attached to a pried-off oyster. This one looks
like Isognomon bicolor. I suspect we have both trying to establish on the
jetties there. We have had a very mild winter. Maybe they will be able

to last awhile.

Janey also found Ischadium recurvum, small ones among the Brachidontes.
She also remarked on several of the Brachidontes that seemed to be B. exustus.
Both species are found there, I think.

For me, there was "still gold in them thar hills." I scraped off a small
oyster and some barnacles and peered at the lot through my head lens. I saw
a tiny little red snail moving along and knew I hadn't seen that there be-
fore. Back at Janey's we examined it under the microscope. It was my first
live Pedipes mirabilis north along the coast from Port O'Connor, Texas. Re-
member---we have had a mild winter. This little loping snail that is an air
breather and almost a land snail chooses to hide under smoothish rocks or in
crevices of boulders in our area high above the water levels. It has always
been a favorite of mine. I have, and others have, collected dead shells in
the drift at Galveston and San Luis Pass from time to time. They were so
fresh we figured live ones were somewhere if we could find them. So this
was a first for me for our area. I only found one. There must be more.

Try to find them this summer.

KKEKKKREKKKKEK

HAVE YOU PAID YOUR DUES FOR VOLUME XX?

The By-Laws have been changed so that dues were to be paid by June 1, 1983

for the new year starting with the first meeting the fourth Wednesday in
August. The first quarterly of Volume XX will be issued in October. You

will not receive notices of meetings or get this first quarterly, if your

dues are not paid. Single membership is $9.00. Family membership is $10.00.
Membership entitles you to receive 9 meeting notices and four issues of

Texas Conchologist (Vol. XX). Treasurer is Valerie Middaugh, 2701 North Blvd.,
#1, Houston, Texas 77098. (Telephone 524-6542 if you have a question.)

° HOUSTON CONCHOLOGY SOCIETY, INC.

Officers 1983-1984

President ~ Richard Yui.
‘Program Vice-President _ Wayne Barnett
_ ‘Field Trip Vice President Donald Hart
Treasurer i Valerie Middaugh
Recording Secretary Emily Oakes
Corresponding eer ages Anne Hilton |
a Directors
Lloyd Meister ‘ 2 Violet May
Bob Sappington Mildred Elkins
Dave Sheridan Mary Ann Curtis

Editor, Texas Conchologist Constance E. Boone

Immediate Past President Lucy Clampit

Honorary Life Members

Dr. T. E. Pulley _ Dr. Helmer Odé

TEXAS CONCHOLOGIST Vol. XIX, No. 4, July, 1983

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Marine Shells of The Outer Baja California Coast
By T. E. Pulley (1 fig.” i map)”

Cyphoma macgintyi in Texas waters
By Constance E. Boone

Mollusca as Endotoxin Indicators
By Debbie McCain

Book Review by Jim Keeler
Literature Notes by Constance E. Boone

Some Reflections on Taxonomy
By H. Ode

Ole! San Jose! by Helen Eberspacher
SEARCH AND SEIZURE by Constance E. Boone

Dues Notice

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